


To The World

by blackandorange



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angel Oikawa Tooru, Demon Kuroo Tetsurou, Good Omens AU, I used the rating E just to be safe, Idiots in Love, Lots, M/M, Mutual Pining, sex is there but it's not explict at all
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-08
Updated: 2019-12-27
Packaged: 2020-11-27 20:18:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 35,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20954318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackandorange/pseuds/blackandorange
Summary: It meant they both recognized they had more in common with each other than they had with their respective sides which felt nothing but remote allies to them.It meant they will protect each other first.It meant they were on their side, first and foremost.In which Oikawa is a bastard angel and Kuroo is a demon with a marshmallow heart. Basically, a Good Omens au.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This AU follows the events of the tv show faithfully for the first half but then gradually takes its own way. BUT it only shows the story from Oikawa and Kuroo's (Aziraphale and Crowley) perspective so it doesn't cover fully all the events of the series. Still, this fic doesn't require any previous knowledge of the series, you can enjoy it just fine! Maybe check it out after you read this fic, it's truly beautiful ;)

_ The Garden of Eden. 6000 years ago. _

“Well, that went down like a lead balloon.” 

“Excuse me, what?”

“I said _ ‘well that went down like a lead balloon’ _.” 

Nothing. The angel in front of him just gave him a blank, mildly annoyed, stare.

“A bit of an overreaction if you ask me,” he continued. “I can’t see what’s so bad in knowing the difference between good and evil anyway!” 

“It must be bad…” the angel trailed off, searching for his name.

“Kuroo. Kuroo Tetsurou.”

“Kuroo Tetsurou,” the angel repeated and hearing his name had never made Kuroo tingle like that before. “It must be bad, otherwise you wouldn’t have tempted them into it.” 

“I just said _ get up and make some trouble_,” Kuroo said with a smirk.

“Well obviously, you’re a demon. That’s the bare minimum to accomplish your job.”

“Why did the almighty put the tree in the middle of a damn garden anyway? That wasn’t very subtle. Makes you wonder what god’s really planning.”

“It’s best not to speculate, it’s part of the great plan. It’s not for us to understand.” The angel paused, turning to look Kuroo straight in the eye. “It’s ineffable.”

Kuroo did a very poor job of suppressing his laugh. “The great plan is ineffable?”

“Exactly,” the angel nodded. “It is beyond understanding and incapable of being put into words.”

As he was speaking, Kuroo could do nothing but run his gaze up and down, studying him thoroughly. He’d watched him so many times from afar, always up there on the eastern gate, beautiful and regal with his white robe gently wrapped around his perfect body and his big pristine wings softly rustling in the wind. Damn the apples, that was the true divine temptation of the garden. 

Kuroo swallowed hard. 

“Didn’t you have a flaming sword?” he asked, changing the subject, more for his own sake than for anything else really. 

“Uhm...” 

“You did! It was flaming like anything!” Kuroo said, curious. “What happened to it?”

“I…” the angel started, a flash of embarrassment in his big chocolate eyes. 

“Lost it already, haven’t you?” Kuroo laughed.

“I gave it away.”

“You what?!”

“I gave it away!” the angel said, raising his voice. “There are vicious animals, it’s going to be cold out there and she’s expecting already! I just… hope I didn’t do the wrong thing.”

“You’re an angel, I don’t think you are capable of doing _ the wrong thing _.”

“Oh,” the angel sighed, seeming genuinely relieved. “Thank you. It’s been bothering me.”

“Well, I’ve been worrying too,” Kuroo said, staring into the distance. “What if I did the right thing with the whole _ ‘eat the apple’ _ business? A demon could get into a lot of trouble for doing the right thing.” 

He could see the infinite sea of sand surrounding the garden of Eden and two small dots getting further and further away. 

“It’d be funny if we both got it wrong...” Kuroo smirked at him. “If I did the good thing and you did the bad one?”

“No!” the angel said, visibly offended. “That wouldn’t be funny at all!”

A roll of thunder suddenly broke the perfect bucolic harmony of the garden. Moments later the sky turned grey and rain started to pour. The angel looked at him for a moment, then extended his wings with a welcoming nod. 

“You angels are no fun at all,” Kuroo grunted but still got closer, finding shelter under his big wing and enjoying the strange warmth coming from him. 

The angel smiled at him. “I know we aren’t.”


	2. Welcome To The End Times

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I like your eyes.”

_ Fussa, Tama Area, Western Tokyo. 11 years ago. _

“Hi, guys!” Kuroo said, closing the door of his beloved 1933 shiny black Bentley. “Sorry, I’m late, the traffic is horrible at this time of the day.”

“Now that we’re all here let us recount the deeds of the day,” one of the two demons in front of him said. 

Kuroo blinked at them for a bit. One shabby blonde and a black one with a frog on his head. They were truly horrible to look at. And reeked of death. He suddenly felt the need to smell himself to make sure he didn’t carry around the same smell. That would have been… problematic for a number of reasons.

“Of course, deeds, yeah,” Kuroo sighed as the two demons proceeded to tell him which great actions of evil they’d managed to accomplish. 

It turned out they weren’t great at all. Temptation of a priest, too classic, far too easy, and convincing a politician to take a little bribe wouldn’t hurt anyone. Did politicians even need demons to think of that?

“Ok so, listen up, you’ll like this,” Kuroo started, all smug. “I brought down every Tokyo area mobile phone network tonight.” 

“And what exactly has done that to secure souls for our master?” the blonde one asked, unimpressed. 

“Oh, come on!” Kuroo scoffed. “It’s over nine million people being pissed off and taking it out on each other, it’s brilliant!”

“That’s not exactly craftsmanship,” the other pointed out.

“Listen, head office doesn’t seem to mind, they love me down there! You’re acting like the ancient demons you are, times are changing!” Kuroo shrugged. “So… what’s up?”

“This is,” the blonde said, reaching out a hand. It was gripped around the handle of a covered wicker basket, big enough to contain…

“No,” Kuroo let out in a quivering breath. “Already?”

“Yes,” both the demons said in one voice. 

“And it’s up to me to…”

“Yes,” the demons said, again, this time even more viciously.

“No, listen, I…” Kuroo said, stammering. “That’s… really not my scene, you know?”

“Oh, this is more than your scene, this is your starring role,” the black one smirked. “Take it.”

“It’s just like you said, Kuroo,” his shabby companion said. “Times are changing.” 

“But why me?” Kuroo whined.

“Because they love you down there,” the black one said with a self-satisfied grin. “And it’s a great opportunity, you have no idea how many demons would give anything to be you tonight.”

There was no escape from a situation like that. There was no way he could escape the end of the world personified. Even if it was very little and very unaware of everything at that moment. 

“Sign here.”

Kuroo sighed, accepting his destiny. He signed the parchment with one sizzling stroke and took the basket with him. It was so light. He didn’t know why he was expecting it to be heavy, but he did. How much were newborns supposed to weigh anyway?

“Why do you look so glum?” the blonde said. “The moment we have been working for all these centuries is at hand. Our moment of eternal triumph awaits and you will be a tool of that glorious destiny.”

_ “The moment you have been working for,” _Kuroo wanted to say, but he managed to bite his tongue just in time. 

“Centuries... Triumph… Glorious tool… yeah,” Kuroo said. “I’ll be off then. Great. Fine. Yeah. Ciao!”

Kuroo nonchalantly walked away from them, fully aware of the two pairs of eyes smouldering on his back. He heard them, even if they weren’t talking. He heard all the rumours about him, even if he pretended not to. _ The flash bastard. He’s been up there too long _ . _ He’s gone native _ . _ Enjoying himself too much _. 

Well, he _ wished _ he was enjoying himself too much since there was one little thing he oh so much wanted to enjoy but still couldn’t. But he couldn’t deny there were other things, big and little, that were making his stay on earth well… quite enjoyable indeed. 

The one that bothered him the most, though, was the one about his beloved sunglasses. _ Wearing sunglasses even when he doesn’t need them _. Of course he needed them. He could disguise his black wings but he still had his gold demonic eyes, and those were not something he believed humans, or angels, were so keen on seeing. 

Kuroo put the basket on the back seat, starting the engine and driving away from the graveyard. A graveyard. What a clichéd place to meet anyway. Demons truly still lived in 1500 or something. Kuroo sighed. It wasn’t like he didn’t want Armageddon to start. He just didn’t want it to start _ now _. It was too soon. Far too soon. There were things he needed to sort out first and those eleven years he was left with surely weren’t enough. 

“Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!” Kuroo yelled, gripping strongly at the steering wheel. “Why me!”

“Because you earned it,” a voice said from the radio. It was one of the only two voices he would always recognize for two different reasons entirely. This time, it was the bad one. It was the voice of the devil. 

“I’m here with your instructions,” the voice continued. “This is the big one, Kuroo.”

=

_ Tokyo. 11 years ago. _

“Here’s the selection of your favourite sushi, my dear Oikawa-san.”

“That’s very kind of you, thank you very much, sensei,” Oikawa said with a small bow. 

He looked at the beautiful plate in front of him, taking in the superb harmony of colours, the impeccable way in which the fish was cut, the symmetry of the placing. Everything was absolutely flawless. He closed his eyes, inhaling deeply and letting the delicious smell invade his lungs. He smiled. It was a truly perfect night.

Or was it. 

He sensed a presence next to him and he didn’t even need to open his eyes to know who it was. 

“Mind if I join you?” he asked. 

“Gabriel,” Oikawa said in a mildly frustrated sigh, opening his eyes. “What an unexpected pleasure.”

“Why do you consume… that,” he asked, pointing at Oikawa’s plate. “You’re an angel.”

“And this is sushi,” Oikawa said in a matter of fact way. “Humans love it. I just… like to keep up appearances since I’m here living among them. Do you want some tea?”

“I do not sully the temple of my celestial body with gross matter,” Gabriel said, visibly disgusted.

“Of course,” Oikawa said in a thin smile. “Doesn’t that human suit _ sully the temple of your celestial body _ as well?” 

“I like the clothes,” he said. “Wanted to try them once since they won’t be around for much longer.”

“Excuse me?” Oikawa said, raising one eyebrow.

“We have reliable information that things are… afoot,” Gabriel said giving him a knowing look. “My informant suggests that the demon… what’s his name again… the demon Kuroo Tetsurou may be involved.”

Oikawa tensed at the mention of the name. 

“You need to keep him under observation without, of course, letting him know that’s what you’re doing,” Gabriel informed him.

“I know,” Oikawa said. “I’ve been on earth doing this exact same thing since the beginning.”

“And so has Kuroo Tetsurou,” Gabriel shrugged. “It’s a miracle he hasn’t spotted you yet but, after all, miracles are what we do, aren’t they?” 

Oikawa let out a nervous laugh as Gabriel took his leave, vanishing as quickly as he appeared. 

He looked at his sushi plate which was still gleaming under the low light of the restaurant, waiting for him. He’d lost all his appetite but took up his chopsticks regardless. It would have been a sin to let all that glory go to waste and he was an angel and an angel doesn’t commit any sins. 

Oikawa sighed deeply. 

“A miracle, huh?” 

=

_ Fussa, Tama Area, Western Tokyo. 11 years ago. _

The plan was extremely simple. Elementary. Absolutely uncomplicated. Impossible to get wrong. He just needed to go to this hospital which was, rather conveniently, managed by satanic nuns, deliver the basket and go. The nuns would do the actual job of switching the son of the devil with the son of an American diplomat who was, again, rather conveniently, about to be born in that same hospital. 

Easy-peasy.

What could go wrong? 

Nothing. 

Kuroo parked the car in the yard and took the basket with the demonic gift with him. 

“Has it started yet?” he asked a man who was standing right outside the entrance of the hospital smoking his pipe. 

“They made me go out,” he said.

“Any idea of how long we’ve got?” Kuroo asked. It wasn’t like he was in a hurry, he just wanted to get the thing over with as fast as possible. 

“I think we were getting on with it, doctor,” the man said.

_ Doctor? _

“What room is she in?”

“We’re in room three.”

“Room three, got it!” Kuroo said, slamming the door of the hospital open. 

As he got in, Kuroo could hear a woman screaming in the distance. Excellent. He wandered around, searching for any sign of nuns around until he finally found one. 

“Pss,” he hissed, trying to get her attention.

The nun stopped in her tracks as soon as she saw him, hiding behind a column but with the wicked basket in plain sight. Her face lit up instantly. She ran to him, opening the cover and taking the baby in her arms. He was so small and had a head full of soft ginger curls. A redhead, of course. Hell was truly the cliché of itself. 

“Is that him?” she asked.“The adversary, destroyer of kings, angel of the bottomless pit, prince of this world and lord of darkness?” 

“Yup,” Kuroo nodded. 

“Only I’d expected funny eyes, or teensy-weensy little hoofikins, or wittle tail!” she said, looking at the baby closely. 

Kuroo sighed. “It’s definitely him.” 

“Fancy me holding the antichrist, counting his little toesie-woesies.” the nun giggled. “Do you look like your daddy? I bet that he does.” 

“He doesn't,” Kuroo cut her short. “Take him up to room three.” 

“Room three,” the nun repeated. “Do you think he’ll remember me when he grows up?”

Kuroo rolled his eyes, pushing the door open with his shoulder. “Pray that he doesn’t.” 

He ran back to his car and drove away from the hospital as fast as he could before some other demon could come and get him involved in other ways to end the world or something. 

“Call Tooru,” he issued the command to the voice assistant.

“Sorry, all lines to Tokyo are currently busy,” the mechanical voice replied.

Kuroo groaned, repeatedly beating his steering wheel. “Why am I always so good at my job, why?! Damn it!”

He turned on the music as loud as the old car could handle, both to distract himself and to cover all his screams of frustration. He was in the middle of nowhere and finding a phone booth was basically impossible, especially since his personal miracle machine was miles away and unreachable in that very moment. 

It took him what was possibly an hour to finally find one. 

It was late at night but he was sure he would pick up the phone regardless. He always did. The phone rang a couple of times before Kuroo could hear the first most familiar voice to him, as annoying as ever. 

“I’m afraid we’re quite definitely closed.” 

“Tooru, it’s me,” Kuroo said. “We need to talk.” 

Oikawa hesitated for a moment. “Yes, I rather think we do. I assume this is about -”

“Armageddon, yes,” Kuroo cut him short and hung up the phone before Oikawa could say anything else. 

=

_ Tokyo. 11 years ago. _

Ueno Park had been the setting of Kuroo and Oikawa’s clandestine meetings for quite some time. They saw it change from the quiet park that it was once upon a time, to the tourist attraction it was now, definitely too crowded but holder of so many dear memories they could never make themselves change location. The cherry blossoms were just too beautiful there and their favourite bench was also always free for them, miraculously so. 

And it was on that same bench they were sitting, as always, one of them with his perfect posture and the other slouched against the side of it. 

“You sure it was the antichrist?” Oikawa asked, tilting his head to one side as he always did when he truly didn’t believe what Kuroo was saying. 

“I should know, I delivered the baby,” Kuroo scoffed. “Well… not delivered _ delivered _, you know? I… handed it over.”

“An American diplomat, really?” Oikawa sighed. “As if armageddon was a cinematographic show you wished to sell in as many countries as possible.” 

“The Earth and all the kingdoms thereof…” Kuroo shrugged. 

“We will win, of course,” Oikawa said with a triumphant nod. 

Kuroo couldn’t help but smirk at him. Seeing him getting all worked up about the most trivial things was one of the things Kuroo enjoyed the most. Not that armageddon was a trivial thing, but still. 

“You really believe that?”

“Obviously!” Oikawa declared. “Heaven will finally triumph over hell. It’s all going to be rather lovely.”

“Out of interest, how many first-class composers do your lot have in heaven? Because Mozart's one of ours. Beethoven. Schubert. All the Bachs.”

“They have already written their music,” Oikawa said, calmly, as if he was dealing with a child. 

“And you’ll never hear it again,” Kuroo pointed out. “No more Albert Hall, no more Glyndebourne, just… celestial harmonies.”

“Well…”

“That’s just the start of what you lose if you win,” Kuroo continued. “No more fascinating little restaurants where they know you. No homemade udon. No more _ old bookshops _.” 

_ “No more me” _ Kuroo wanted to add, but he didn’t. He didn’t even know if that would even have been something that could convince Oikawa that the end of the world must be stopped at all costs. In truth, he didn’t even want to find out. 

He looked at Oikawa’s pensive face, smiling. “We’ve only got eleven years and it’s all over, we have to work together.”

“No,” Oikawa said, without really looking at him, his eyes lost somewhere in the lake in front of them. 

“It’s the end of the world we’re talking about, it’s not some little temptation I’ve asked you to cover for me, you can’t say no,” Kuroo insisted, his face now a few inches away from Oikawa’s.

“We can do something, I have an idea!” 

“No,” Oikawa said once again, this time looking him right in the eye. “I am not interested.” 

Kuroo backed off a little as if Oikawa’s words punched him directly in the face. He felt like he meant so, so much more than just _ “I’m not interested in saving the world with you”. _

“Well,” Kuroo sighed. “Let’s have lunch at least, I still owe you one from…” 

“Paris. 1793.”

“Paris 1793, yes, of course. The Reign of Terror!” Kuroo said. “Was it one of ours or one of yours?”

“I can’t recall…” Oikawa said. His lips turned up just a tiny bit and Kuroo certainly didn’t miss it. “The only thing I remember is that we had crepes.” 

=

“I’m lucky money is not a concern for people like us, otherwise feeding you would cost me a fortune, Angel,” Kuroo said as soon as they got out of the restaurant. 

It was one of those fancy restaurants Oikawa liked so much, Italian, with too many pieces of silverware and dishes’ names two lines long. And bread in every shape and form, but that was a good thing. He’d never been one for those high-end places, but he just couldn’t get enough of watching the wonder on Oikawa’s face every time a new dish was served in front of him, the way his lips closed around the little fork when he was eating those fluffy desserts he loved, the way his body tensed and relaxed at the same time, taking in all the pleasure the food was giving. His ridiculous little _ “that was scrumptious” _.

Did he know that was a sin, he wondered. 

“What can I say,” Oikawa said, nonchalantly, as they started to walk down the street. “I’m a luxury few can afford.”

“I’m glad I’m one of those few, then,” Kuroo scoffed. 

“So, what are you in the mood for now?” Oikawa asked. He was particularly jolly, food always had that effect on him and that was why Kuroo always carried a bunch of candies with him, hidden in the pocket of his jacket. And a plaid tin full of biscuits in his car.

“Alcohol!” Kuroo excalimed. “Quite extraordinary amounts of alcohol!” 

“You’re lucky then,” Oikawa smiled. “I have several very nice bottles of Chateauneuf-du-Pape in the back, I picked up a dozen cases in 1921 and there’s still some left for special occasions!”

_ Special occasions? _

“Not very big on wine in Heaven, are they though?” Kuroo asked, mischievous. “Not going to get any more nice little Chateauneuf-du-Papes in heaven. Or single malt scotch. Or little froufrou cocktails with umbrellas…”

“Tetsu, I already told you, I’m not helping you, I’m not interested.” Oikawa sighed. “This is purely social.” 

Kuroo stopped, tilting his head to one side and raising an eyebrow. 

Oikawa looked at him and let out an exasperated breath. “I am an angel, you are a demon. We’re hereditary enemies.” 

“But I was promised Chateauneuf-du-Pape tonight!” Kuroo pouted. 

“Of course you will have it,” Oikawa laughed. “Let’s go.”

Kuroo blinked at him for a second. It was always like that with him. One moment he liked to remind him of the fact that they should be archenemies and the other he was taking him to his home for drinks. Popping wine saved for special occasions. Giving mixed signals should have been a sin as well, he should write an official letter to Oikawa’s higher-ups to get that thing going. 

Oikawa turned around, looking at him with a hint of confusion on his face. “You’re not coming?”

“Of course, of course, I’m coming.” Kuroo said. How could he not, after all. 

=

“So what…” Oikawa started, rolling on the couch and trying not to let his glass of wine slip from his hands. Which was hard as he was completely drunk. “What exactly is your point?”

“My point is -” Kuroo started but was stopped by a sudden burp. “Dolphins. That’s my point. They have big brains, the size of…” Kuroo paused again, his intoxicated brain deciding to stop cooperating for good. “Big. Damn big brains. Not to mention the whales. Brain city whales.”

“Kraken! Oh, great big bugger!” Oikawa said, puffing his cheeks. “Supposed to rise up to the surface, right? Right… up at the end, when the sea boils.”

“Yes! Yes!” Kuroo said, lifting himself from the column he was lying against, or at least attempting to. “That’s my point! The whole sea bubbling, the dolphins, the whales, everything turning into boulliab… bulliab… boull… 

“Bub, bub, bub,” Oikawa mocked him, laughing with a kissy face. 

“Well, fish stew. Anyway, it’s not their fault and that’s the same with the gorillas, they say like whoop and the sky’s gone red and there’s stars crashing down and _ what are they putting in the bananas these days! _” Kuroo tried to explain, all agitated, moving so much his head started to feel dizzy. 

“They’re all creatures, great and small,” Oikawa said, taking a sip of his wine, looking suddenly so sad.

“And you know what’s worse? When it’s all over, you’ve got to deal with eternity!!” Kuroo yelled, doing a pirouette which made him stumble over his own feet and land directly on the couch on top of Oikawa. 

His brain was perfectly clear for a moment, until it wasn’t. 

“Eternity?” Oikawa asked, looking at up at him with his big Bambi eyes.

“Yes,” Kuroo managed to say.

Oikawa let the glass fall to the floor and reached out his hands, one on each side of Kuroo’s face, slowly sliding his sunglasses off. Without the shield of the glasses, the world around him was too bright, the eyes under him too burning. 

If anyone else had dared to do something like that to him, he would have probably cut their hands off on the spot. His sunglasses were his shield, but he never used them to protect himself. He used them to protect others from him. To keep the part of him that was so painfully demonic away from the place where he chose to be, from the people he chose to be with. He could have disguised them, the same way he was disguising his wings, but he didn’t want to. He wanted acceptance despite being a demon, not because he tricked people into believing he wasn’t or into forgetting he was. 

“What… what are you doing,” he asked, his body dramatically heating up.

“I like your eyes,” Oikawa said, simply, never letting his stare waver. 

“My… what?” Kuroo shook his head, looking away. “They’re just ugly demon eyes.”

Oikawa placed a hand on his cheek, delicately turning Kuroo’s face towards him again. “I like them,” Oikawa said with a gentle smile. 

Kuroo felt like his head was about to explode and his heart with it. For a moment, for that single moment, he was sure he truly belonged there, exactly where he was. On Earth and in the hands of an angel. It was the first time he ever felt like that and now he really didn’t know what to do. The only thing he knew was that he never wanted to kiss him more than he did at that exact moment, but he didn’t. He also knew the second he leaned in Oikawa would have turned his head away and Kuroo truly wasn’t in the mood to be so blatantly rejected. Not now that he felt accepted for the first time in his long, long life. 

Why?

He was a demon, he was supposed to give in to temptation, why did he have to restrain himself so much? It wasn’t fair. If he wanted to be frustrated and emotionally constipated all the time he would have stayed an angel. Period. 

“I’m… glad,” Kuroo said, pushing himself up and sitting back on his heels. 

“You know… I don’t like this eternity thing any more than you do, but I told you, I can’t dis…” Oikawa trailed off. “Not do what I’m told. I’m an angel, I… oh, god. I can’t cope with this while I’m drunk, I’m going to sober up.”

“Yeah, me too,” Kuroo said, slapping his face. 

They both inhaled sharply and, after some considerable strain, they managed to make all the wine flow from their bodies right back into the many bottles scattered on the table. 

“Why does it always have to leave such an ugly taste in your mouth?” Oikawa asked with a disgusted face. 

“I don’t know,” Kuroo said, plopping down onto the couch like a rag doll. “Major design flaw if you ask me.”

“Tetsu, listen,” Oikawa started, sitting upright. “Even if I wanted to help, I couldn’t, I can’t interfere with the divine plan!”

“Well, what about diabolical plans?” Kuroo asked. “You can’t be certain that thwarting me isn’t part of the divine plan too. I mean, you’re supposed to thwart the wiles of the evil one at every turn, aren’t you?”

“Well…”

“You see a wile and you thwart, am I right?” Kuroo smirked. 

“I… yes, broadly,” Oikawa said, looking visibly torn. “Actually, I encourage humans to do the actual… you know.”

“The antichrist has been born but it’s the upbringing that’s important, the influences.” Kuroo insisted. “The evil influences, that’s all gonna be me. But too bad if someone made sure that I failed…” 

Revelation flashed over Oikawa’s face. “If you put it that way… Heaven couldn’t actually object if I was thwarting you.”

“No, be a real feather on your wing,” Kuroo smirked. 

Oikawa looked at him for a long moment before extending his hand. Kuroo took it, sealing the deal. He could see Oikawa still wasn't entirely convinced, but he didn’t care, not now that he finally got him on board. 

“We’d be godfathers, sort of,” Kuroo laughed. “Overseeing his upbringing. We do it right he won’t be evil. Or good. He’ll just be normal.”

“It might work!” Oikawa said, finally looking a little bit relieved. “Godfathers… well, I’ll be damned.” 

“It’s not that bad when you get used to it,” Kuroo winked. 

=

_ Hell. 6 years ago. _

Kuroo quite forgot how horrible the situation was down there. Well, it was actually hell, the real one, _ but still _. The corridors were gloomy, barely lit by a greenish light and there were people everywhere. No matter where he turned, there were hordes of people, each in worse condition than the one before. When humans wish someone would “go rot in hell” they have no idea how literally their desire would be satisfied if the person eventually fulfilled the requirements. 

But the thing Kuroo hated the most about hell was the smell: it was revolting and more than once he had to fight his instinct to retch. Maybe the other demons weren’t so wrong when they said he’d been up on Earth too long. 

“So, tell us about the boy,” Lord Beelzebub, asked him in his usual demanding tone. 

He was simply disgusting to look at, with pustules all over his face and a swarm of flies buzzing around him. He was the demon who sponsored his trip back to hell, summoning him to bring news about the antichrist. 

“He’s a remarkable child,” Kuroo said, smiling. 

In truth, he really was. Him and Oikawa, disguised as a nanny and a gardener, had been by his side for the past five years, teaching him all the evil and all the good things. The balance between their opposing influences was working perfectly and the baby was… spectacularly normal. Maybe too normal. 

“But is he evil?” one of the demons asked. It was the blonde one from that time. Kuroo was aware of the fact that he should have known his name, but he didn’t. Not that he cared, really. 

“Fantastically evil,” Kuroo lied. 

“Has he killed anyone yet?” another demon, the frog one, asked him.

“Uh… not yet,” Kuroo said. The kid was five, for fucks sake. “But there’s more to evil than just killing people, eh?”

All the demons present started to murmur in agreement. 

“Have you encountered any problems from the opposition?” Lord Beelzebub asked. He had trouble saying the last word, as if the sole thought of angels physically nauseated him. 

Kuroo smirked. “They don’t suspect a thing.” 

=

_ Heaven. 6 years ago. _

Oikawa didn’t like a single one of his white-winged colleagues. Literally. Not a single one. And the feeling was quite certainly mutual. 

They were all standing there, in that immense pristine room, lined up like a firing squad in front of him with those fake smiles stretched on their faces. He knew they were just waiting for him to take a misstep, they couldn’t wait for him to make a mistake so they could finally take him out and rejoice in the certainty of being right all along. 

A traitor. An angel who disowned his holy race with how much he was loving his life on earth. With how much he was loving every single thing that planet had to offer him. 

What were they even expecting him to do? Go there and act superior like they did?

He was a being of love, that’s what his soul, his heart, his body, his thoughts, his everything was made of. He didn’t know anything but love for the longest time, why was it so wrong to love unconditionally now? To fall in love with the Earth? Humans were taught to love each other, to love every single creature, human or not, good or evil they encountered. Why was it so wrong for him to follow the same advice? Why was it so wrong for him to love…

“So, tell us about the boy,” Gabriel asked him.

“I am proud to say that, on a very real level, the antichrist child is now being influenced towards the light,” Oikawa said, calmly. 

“Very commendable, Oikawa,” Gabriel said, visibly pleased. He even started clapping and all the others around him did as well. “Excellent work as usual.”

_ Pff. _

“Yes, but we will be most understanding when you fail,” Michael said. “After all, wars are to be won, not avoided.”

_ What? _

“But I won’t fail,” Oikawa said, mildly confused. “I mean, that would be undeniably bad.”

“What you’re doing is praiseworthy but obviously doomed to failure,” Gabriel said, as if Oikawa was a child who failed to see the simple logic behind the adults’ words. “Still, as the almighty likes to say, _ climb every mountain _.”

Gabriel squeezed Oikawa’s shoulder, giving him a knowing smile before he left the room, promptly followed by everyone in the room.

Oikawa was a being of love, that was sure, but he certainly wasn’t stupid. 

Heaven didn’t want him to succeed. Heaven didn’t want the child to turn good.

Heaven wanted him to be as bad as his father intended.

Heaven wanted him to start the war. 

Heaven wanted a war, they wanted to prove once and for all they were better than the other side. 

Heaven would never stop until they had their war. Not until they won it and eradicated every single demon on and under the surface of Earth.

And _ that _ was a thing Oikawa would never let them do, no matter what. 

=

_ Tokyo. Present day. Six days to the end of the world. _

“Well, we’ve done everything we can, all we can do now is wait for his birthday,” Kuroo said, looking at the child they saw grow up running around Ueno Park. It was such a shame his bright ginger curls turned black in no time, but he supposed it was only natural. And very fitting of the… situation. “The hellhound will be the key. It shows up at 3:00 pm.”

“Right,” Oikawa said, frowning. “You never actually mentioned a hellhound before.”

“Oh, yeah,” Kuroo said, faking a surprised look. “They’re sending him a hellhound to pad by his side and guard him from all harm.” 

“Won’t people remark on the sudden appearance of a huge black dog?” Oikawa asked, visibly concerned. “His parents, for a start?” 

“No one will notice anything, it’s reality, angel,” Kuroo smiled at him. “And the young boy can do what he likes with that, whether he knows it or not. It’s the start of it all, the boy’s meant to name it but, if you and I have done our job properly, then he’ll send it away, unnamed.”

“But what if he does name it?” Oikawa asked. 

“Then you and I have lost, he’ll have all his powers and armageddon will be days away,” Kuroo said, relaxing back on the bench. 

“There must be some way of stopping it!” Oikawa said in an unusually high voice. Kuroo turned to look at him and he couldn’t believe his eyes. Oikawa was looking… scared. Genuinely scared. His whole body was trembling slightly and his eyes were prying into Kuroo’s searching for an answer he didn’t really have. Unless…

“If there’s no boy…” Kuroo started. “Then the process would stop.”

“Yes, but there is a boy, he’s right over there!” Oikawa said, pointing at him with his chin. 

“Well, there is a boy now, but that could change,” Kuroo said giving Oikawa a knowing look. “Something could happen to him.”

Oikawa looked at him even more intently, even more puzzled. 

Why must angels be so damn dense?

“I’m saying you could kill him!” Kuroo finally let out. 

Oikawa backed off, looking at the child. The way he was doing it actually made a chill ran down Kuroo’s spine. He was considering it. He, an angel, was seriously considering it. 

“I’ve never actually… killed anything,” Oikawa said in a whisper of a voice. “I don’t think I could.”

“Not even to save… _ everything _?” Kuroo said, getting closer to him. “It’s one life, against the universe.”

Oikawa continued to stare at the child and he did for a very long time before he spoke again. “This hellhound… it will show up at his birthday party, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Then we should be there!” Oikawa said, turning to look at Kuroo again. “Maybe I can stop the dog. In fact, I could entertain it!”

“Oh no, no, no, please no,” Kuroo begged him.

“I just need to get back into practice!” Oikawa smiled. He always had this strange belief of being very good at magic tricks but he just… wasn’t. Not that a magic trick would have any effect on a real hellhound, but still. He really didn’t want Oikawa to embarrass himself in front of all those people. 

“Oh no, don’t do your magic act!” Kuroo whined, but it was too late, Oikawa was already far too excited at the idea. “I’m actually begging you, you have no idea how demeaning that is.” 

Oblivious to his words, Oikawa started to play with a coin, attempting to make it disappear between his fingers with a sharp puff. He then leaned forward, shifting dangerously close to Kuroo and brushing one hand along his jaw until it was behind his ear. Kuroo tensed at what was surely an intentional touch and was lost for a moment in the warm proximity of his body and the fresh, yet ever so sweet, smell of Oikawa’s skin. Oikawa looked him deep in the eye and smiled, pretending to pick the coin right out of his ear. 

Kuroo swallowed hard. “It… the coin… was in your fingers all along.”

“It was in your ear,” Oikawa said softly.

“Never anywhere near my ear.”

Oikawa pouted, moving away. “You’re no fun.”

“Fun?” Kuroo laughed. “It’s humiliating, you can do proper magic! You could make things disappear for real if you wanted!”

“But it’s not as fun!” Oikawa replied, exaggerating his pout. 

“Make you disappear,” Kuroo scoffed. At least it would have taken those lips away from him before he could make that pout disappear himself. 

=

_ Tokyo. Present day. Four days before the end of the world. _

“It was a little bit of a disaster, I’m afraid,” Oikawa sighed opening a bottle of Kuroo’s favourite whiskey. He always kept several in his old bookshop, his house, because Kuroo would need it at the most random times and, for some reason, he never had any at his own place. 

“Nonsense,” Kuroo shrugged. “You gave all of them a party to remember. The last one any of them will have, anyway.”

Oikawa chuckled. No matter how Kuroo put it, it was a complete disaster. Not the fact that the birthday party ended up in complete havoc with cake flying everywhere and children fighting each other, but because the hellhound never actually showed up. And it should have been a good sign, except it wasn’t. Because from hell came the news that the big infernal dog had indeed been released, it just never arrived where they were waiting. Which meant one simple thing: they had the wrong child all along.

“Armageddon is days away and we’ve lost the antichrist,” Kuroo said, his cheek pressed into the cold marble of the counter. “Why did the powers of hell need to drag me into this anyway?”

“Well, don’t quote me on this but I’m pretty sure it’s because of all those memos you keep sending them saying how amazingly well you’re doing,” Oikawa said, softly, sliding a glass in his direction. 

“Is it my fault they never check up?” Kuroo said, picking himself up just a bit. “I’m to blame they never check up? Everyone stretches the truth a bit in memos to the head office, you know that.”

“Yes, but you told them you invented the Spanish Inquisition and started the Second World War,” Oikawa admonished him, sitting down right next to him. 

“So the humans beat me to it, that’s not my fault,” Kuroo said. He suddenly tensed, looking around and sniffing the air as if he was searching for something. “Something’s changed.”

“Oh, it’s a new cologne, my barber suggested it,” Oikawa said, happy he noticed.

“Not you, I know what you smell like!” Kuroo snorted. “The hellhound has found his master.”

Oikawa widened his eyes. “Are you sure?”

“I felt it,” Kuroo nodded. “Would I lie to you?”

“Well, obviously, you’re a demon, that’s what you do.” 

“No, I’m not lying!” Kuroo thundered. His voice was so high it made Oikawa startle. “The boy, wherever he is, has the dog. He’s named it. It’s done. He’s coming into his powers!” 

Kuroo was visibly shaken but frozen at the same time. Oikawa could feel how much turmoil his heart was in. In the six hundred years he’d known him, Kuroo had never looked scared once, but now he did. 

In truth, Oikawa was scared as well. He truly believed they could have stopped everything from happening in one way or another. Their plans were never perfect but they always worked, one way or another. It was the first time they both utterly failed. And at the one mission they really needed to succeed. 

Oikawa searched for Kuroo’s eyes and took his hands. He could feel him tremble slightly.

“We’re doomed,” Kuroo let out in a whisper. 

“Well then,” Oikawa said, dropping his forehead against Kuroo’s, his voice slightly choked. “Welcome to the end times.”


	3. Never meant to fall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He didn’t really mean to fall, neither the first time, when he just hung around the wrong people, nor the second, when he simply stayed beside the right one.

_ Tokyo. Present day. Two days to the end of the world.  _

It was a perfectly quiet morning at the bookshop when Oikawa sensed two supernatural presences inside. They weren’t evil. They were good, his own kind of good, and that was the problem. There hadn’t been a single time when angels came down from heaven to see him and bring good news. It was always bad news. Troubles. Annoyances. 

This was particularly true when he peeked his head from behind one of the bookshelves and found two angels, Gabriel and another one, looking around and awkwardly picking up books. He took a deep breath in before approaching them.

“Can I help you?” he smiled, as best as he could.

“I would like to purchase one of your material objects,” Gabriel said, handing him a book.

“Book,” the other one corrected him.

“Book!” Gabriel said. “Let us discuss my purchase in a private place because I am buying…”

“Pornography?” his partner suggested.

“Pornography!” Gabriel smiled, unaware of the weird stares he was receiving from the other customers.

For goodness sake. Kuroo was so right. Angels truly were the most awkward and embarrassing of all the supernatural beings. 

“Gabriel, come into my back room,” Oikawa sighed, escorting them.

“Human beings are so simple!” Gabriel said proudly as soon as they got into the room. “And so easily fooled!”

“Yes,” Oikawa laughed nervously. “Good job, you… you really fooled them all.”

And the most conceited of them all. 

“You remember Sandalphon,” Gabriel said, pointing to the other angel. 

“Uh… Sodom and Gomorrah,” Oikawa said with a raised eyebrow. “You were doing a lot of smiting and turning people into salt. Hard to forget.”

Sandalphon started to sniff around the room, suspicious. “Something smells… evil.”

Gabriel started to sniff as well, nodding in agreement. 

Of course something smelled evil. He himself was probably soaked in evil smell with how much time Kuroo spent with him in the bookshop. He realized he never actually thought of erasing that smell even if he actually could have at any time. He just… liked it. The unusual smell his good aura and Kuroo’s evil one created when combined with each other. It was the smell he held the dearest, the one that was impossible to forget or explain with human words. 

It was the smell of his home. 

“Oh, that’ll be the Jeffrey Archer books, I’m afraid,” Oikawa smiled drily. 

“Well, we just wanted to stop by and check on the status of the antichrist,” Gabriel said. 

“Why? What’s wrong?” Oikawa asked, nervous. “I mean, if there is something wrong I could put my people onto it.”

“Nothing’s wrong, everything’s working perfectly,” Gabriel shrugged. “There’s a lot happening, all good.”

Oikawa was confused. “All… good?” 

“Well, all according to the divine plan,” Gabriel replied flatly. “The hellhound has been set loose and now the four horsemen of the apocalypse are being summoned. Death, Pollution, Famine, War.”

“Right,” Oikawa said with a nervous chuckle. “Who exactly summons them?”

“Not my department,” Gabriel grumbled. “I believe we outsource that sort of thing.” 

“About time, that’s what I say. You can’t have a war without War,” Sandalphon said, seeming very pleased with himself. 

“Sandalphon that is very good! You can’t have a war without War? I might use that!” Gabriel declared, all excited, making Sandalphon chuckle as he stared directly into Oikawa’s eyes. “Anyway, no problems? How was the hellhound?”

“I…” Oikawa started, trying to gather a lie as fast as he could. “I didn’t stick around to see.”

“Well, excellent job anyway,” Gabriel said with another of his annoying smiles as he made his way out of the shop, Sandalphon right behind him. 

As soon as he was alone, Oikawa plopped down onto the couch. As he did, a cloud of dust puffed around him and, with it, the already infamous  _ “evil smell”  _ engulfed him completely. He buried his face in one of the pillows, squeezing his eyes shut and breathing in deeply until his lungs were filled with it, and all the rest of him with them. 

=

Kuroo was resting his chin on the big red marble table in his living room, staring at a phone that never seemed to ring. His hands were itching with the urge to call Oikawa in an endless battle with his mind and his instincts. As always when it came to him. 

He dropped his head to one side, snapping his fingers to light up the big tv hung on the dark wall. He flipped channels for some time before settling on a random morning talk show he didn’t even listen to anyway. He grunted, pushing his body back on the big gold throne, making himself comfortable on the soft, red velvet cushions. A souvenir he got right from the French Revolution. 

The tv screen flickered a bit and the presenters were swapped with his favourite duo of demons, blondie and frog. He was relieved they decided to appear remotely so he was spared the gagging this time. 

“Morning Kuroo, just checking in,” the black one said. “Nice chair.” 

“Hi guys,” Kuroo greeted them, already bored. 

“It’s about the antichrist,” he continued.

“Yeah, great kid, takes after his dad,” Kuroo cut him off. 

“Our operatives at the state department have arranged for the child’s family to be flown to the Middle East,” the blonde one said. “There he and the hellhound will be taken to the valley of Megiddo. The four horsemen will begin their final ride and armageddon will begin. It’s the final combat, the one we’ve been working towards since we rebelled.” 

The one  _ they _ have been working on since they rebelled. Why were they even counting him in on their plans? Kuroo tried to look excited about the news but he truly couldn't. 

“We are the fallen, never forget that,” the blonde demon said in a low, vicious voice.

Kuroo narrowed his eyes. “It’s not the kind of thing you forget.”

“I don’t trust you Kuroo,” the frog one started but, once again, Kuroo had no intention of listening to him. That one lecture about who he was and what he was supposed to do had been more than enough already. 

“Everything is going just fine,” Kuroo hissed, snapping his fingers to turn the tv off. 

_ The fallen.  _

As if he chose to be that. To be one of them. 

He didn’t really mean to fall, neither the first time, when he just hung around the wrong people, nor the second, when he simply stayed beside the right one.

Kuroo slammed his fists down on the table, letting out a loud shout of frustration. 

Deliver the antichrist and keep an eye on him, that was simply what he should have done. He still couldn’t believe he screwed up such a damn easy and straightforward job and doomed everyone to death. 

He jumped off the throne and walked to the only part of the flat where he could really concentrate, the place where he always managed to find a way to sort out his minor fuck-ups in the past: by the big window where he kept all his house plants. The plants were the only thing inside those walls Kuroo really devoted any personal attention to. Not that he really cared about them, he just needed them to be there, beautiful and perfect, to listen to his endless rambles. Back in the ’70s, he heard about the concept of talking to plants and he found it such an excellent and fascinating idea. 

After all, he always wanted someone he could just talk, and talk, and talk to. He just had to stick to  _ something _ first. 

Truth be told, he was also really proud of his plants, they were the lushest and most verdant house plants in all of Tokyo. He knew because he actually checked. 

Kuroo grabbed his little bottle and started to spray the plants as he walked among them until something caught his eye, making him stop in his tracks. There was a spot. On a leaf. There was a spot on a leaf of one of his precious plants. He couldn’t stand such audacity. 

“You know what I’ve told you all about leaf spots,” Kuroo started, low and deadly. “I will not stand for them!”

“You know what you’ve done,” Kuroo said as he took out the little plant and stared at it intently. “You disappointed me.”

Kuroo raised it up for all the other plants to see. “Everyone, say goodbye to your friend.” 

The plants started to tremble in response, as if a storm was suddenly blowing through them. 

“Now, this is going to hurt you so much more than it will hurt me,” Kuroo said, making his way to the garbage disposal. He stopped for just a second, turning around to look at the plants. “You guys, grow better!”

His threat was still echoing in the room when the sound of the blades made sure every single one of them knew what fate awaited those who disappoint their master. 

And this is how Kuroo kept his plants so luxuriant: he just put the fear of hell into them. Or, more precisely, the fear of Kuroo Tetsurou. 

=

“You’ve lost the boy,” Oikawa started, trying his best to not look outside his passenger window as Kuroo was speeding through traffic with a concert of car horns honking at his very liberal interpretation of street signs and speed limits. 

“We’ve lost him,” Kuroo corrected him. 

“A child has been lost,” Oikawa conceded. “But, you still know his age-”

“We know.”

“His birthday, he’s 11,” Oikawa said. He was sure the core of the problem was that something must have gone wrong the moment the babies were swapped when Kuroo delivered the baby to the nuns. But they still had some leads, they still had some time, they could still find him.

“You make it sound easy,” Kuroo scoffed. 

“Well, it can’t be that hard,” Oikawa said. “I just hope nothing happened to him.”

“Happened? Nothing’s happened to him!” Kuroo screeched. “He happens to everything!”

“So we only have to find his birth records and go through the hospital files,” Oikawa explained. 

“And then what?” Kuroo asked.

“And then we find the child!” Oikawa smiled.

“And then what?!” Kuroo turned his head to look at him and asked again, this time with a harsher edge to his voice. 

“Watch out for that pedestrian!” Oikawa yelled and Kuroo turned the steering wheel just in time not to kill her. His heart was beating furiously in his chest. Kuroo’s driving always scared the life out of him and, no matter how many times he sat next to him, he just couldn’t get accustomed to it.

“She’s on the street, she knows the risk she’s taking,” Kuroo scoffed.

“Watch the road, Tetsu, watch the road!” Oikawa scolded him. He appreciated the fact that Kuroo always wanted to look in his direction when he was talking to him, but not when he was driving. He was fine if his eyes were on the road and the road solely. Mostly because that gave him some rare chances of looking at him, at his sharp yet so gentle profile, without being seen. Hopefully. 

In times like these he was almost glad Kuroo wore sunglasses at every given time of day and night, that increased his chances of not being caught staring at him a whole lot. Even if he really didn’t like the sunglasses at the same time. Not that Kuroo didn’t look good in them, of course he did, but Oikawa liked his eyes a lot more. Kuroo never willingly showed himself to him with a bare face since their very first encounter, over six thousand years before. And the first thing Oikawa noticed were his eyes. Not his long black hair, not the big dark wings. It was the eyes. Those big, gold eyes which didn't bear a single drop of evil in them despite their demonic appearance. 

He missed them. He missed them ever since. 

"Where is this hospital, anyway?” Oikawa asked, regaining his composure. 

“In Fussa, a city in the Tama Area, Western Tokyo,” Kuroo replied, speeding up the car even more.

“Tetsu, please, you can’t do 90 mph in central Tokyo!” 

“Why not?” Kuroo shrugged, this time not only turning to look at him but taking his hands off the wheel as well. 

“You’ll get us killed!” Oikawa bawled. But then remembered they couldn’t really get killed by a simple car accident. “Well, inconveniently discorporated.”

He then thought maybe some music could help them relax and hopefully distract him from all the near-death experiences Kuroo was so keen on providing that day. He had always been like that, but Oikawa could sense something was wrong with him, that something was bothering him immensely, and he didn’t like it one bit. 

“What’s a Velvet Underground?” Oikawa asked, curiously inspecting one of the many CDs Kuroo had in his car. 

“You wouldn’t like it,” Kuroo sighed, shaking his head. 

“Oh, bebop,” Oikawa nodded, putting it away.

Kuroo frowned a bit but didn’t say anything this time. The corner of his lips was slightly pulled up, but he probably didn’t even realize. 

They ended up driving for quite some time before they arrived in the area. Well, Kuroo ended up driving since Oikawa never figured out how to make those four-wheeled infernal chariots work. Not that Kuroo would have ever let him drive his precious car, anyway. Or would even sit in the passenger seat with Oikawa driving. So it was cool. It was an unspoken agreement between the two of them and most of the time it was actually pleasant, being by his side, especially when he was in a better mood. 

“So, we’re in Fussa now, does it look familiar yet?” Oikawa asked, looking outside the window. 

“You know, it does,” Kuroo said. “There should be an airbase around here somewhere.”

“An airbase?” 

“Well, you don’t think American diplomat’s wives usually give birth in a little religious hospital in the middle of Japan, do you?” Kuroo said, a hint of mockery in his tone. “No, it all had to seem to happen naturally, so there’s an airbase in Fussa. Things started to happen, base hospital isn’t ready, our man suggested there was a birthing hospital just down the road and there we were. Rather good organization.”

“Flawless,” Oikawa said, raising one eyebrow. 

“It should have worked,” Kuroo scoffed.

“Ah, but evil always contains the seed of its own destruction,” Oikawa sighed. “No matter how well-planned, how foolproof an evil plan, no matter how successful it may seem along the way, in the end it will founder on the rocks of iniquity and vanish.”

Kuroo stayed silent for a long moment before replying to Oikawa’s telling off. “For my money it was just an ordinary cock-up.” 

Oikawa just glanced at him without saying anything else. He knew Kuroo understood his words more than well. And he agreed. Silence had always been his favourite way to express his agreement as his demon pride would have never let him tell an angel he was right. But it was fine. 

A quiet silence fell in the car, not the awkward and unpleasant sort, but the kid of silence people who are perfectly comfortable with each other are able to achieve. It took quite some thousands of years to reach it, but Oikawa was glad they had. After all, the quiet drives were the ones he loved the most.

After some time a big building in a visible state of deterioration appeared before their eyes. Kuroo parked the car right in front of it and got out. There was a small garden by the front gate and, despite the perfectly clear path to get through it, Kuroo decided to walk on the grass regardless.

Oikawa just gave him a small glance of disappointment before following, arriving at the gate staying on the right path.

“Are you sure this is the place?” Oikawa asked. “This doesn’t look like a hospital.”

As they entered the yard, a pleasant chill made all his body tingle. Oikawa instinctively grabbed at Kuroo’s arm, making him stop.

“This place… it feels loved,” he chuckled, keeping a hand above his heart to keep the feeling in there as much as he could. 

“No, it’s definitely the place,” Kuroo said, looking around, confused. “What do you mean  _ loved _ ?”

“I mean the opposite of when you say ‘I don’t like this place, it feels spooky’,” Oikawa explained. For some reason, he couldn’t stop smiling. 

“I don’t ever say that, I like spooky, big spooky fan me,” Kuroo said. “Now let’s go find some nuns.” 

Oikawa was still holding his hand around Kuroo’s arm when he heard the air hissing right next to his face and felt Kuroo suddenly tensing under his fingers. He recognized the sound, it was a gunshot. Kuroo seemed to have lost his breath as he was gasping for air, squeezing one hand over his chest. He fell to his knees and immediately Oikawa was by his side, keeping him close to his chest.

“Tetsu!” Oikawa called, cupping his face with one hand. “Tetsu what happened?”

Kuroo groaned. He extended his hand, covered in a thick layer of red. 

“Tooru,” he said, barely a whisper. “It’s -”

Another gunshot and pain spread widely across Oikawa’s shoulder before he could realize what was happening. He fell over, crashing over Kuroo in the process.

“Tooru!” Kuroo yelled, trying to move Oikawa away from him. 

Oikawa blinked a couple of times, sniffing Kuroo’s chest. “It’s paint!” he declared, picking himself up. 

“That’s what I’ve been trying to say!” Kuroo laughed. “You’ve been shot as well, it seems.”

“Why did you act like you were dying for real then?” Oikawa asked, upset and relieved at the same time.

“I wonder,” Kuroo smirked. 

“Hey, you’ve both been hit!” a man in full combat gear said as he approached them. “I don’t know what you think you’re playing at right-”

Kuroo snapped his fingers and the man instantly collapsed to the floor.

“Anyway, that was fun,” Kuroo smiled. 

“Fun for you,” Oikawa whined, inspecting the big blue paint stain on his shoulder. “Look at the state of my coat, I kept it in tip-top condition for over 180 years, I’ll never get this stain out!” 

Kuroo took a small walk around Oikawa, an amused grin on his face. “You could just miracle it away.”

“Uhm… well yes, but I would always know the stain was there,” Oikawa mumbled. “Underneath, I mean.”

Kuroo looked at him, head tilted to one side and lips pressed together in an exaggerated pout. He then leaned forward, lips almost brushing Oikawa’s neck. He stood there for a moment, still, probably enjoying Oikawa’s sudden chills. He then blew, ever so softly. His breath made all the hair at the base of Oikawa’s neck stand on end and, with them, a small cloud of red and blue that soon vanished into the air. 

“I… thank you,” Oikawa managed to say despite his dry throat and frozen body. 

Kuroo didn’t say a thing, he just smiled and backed off. 

“Anyway, this must be the gun that shot us,” Oikawa said, clearing his voice as he picked up the gun the man who fainted had with him. “It’s not a proper one at all, it just shoots paintballs.” 

“Don’t you lot disapprove of guns?” Kuroo asked, snapping the gun out of Oikawa’s hands and pointing it right at his heart. 

Oikawa scoffed, moving the barrel away. “Unless they’re in the right hands, then they give weight to a moral argument, I think.” 

“A moral argument? Really?” Kuroo exploded in a laugh, throwing the gun away. “You’re hilarious. Come on, this is definitely the place.”

Once inside they realized the place had been recently turned into some sort of team building facility where colleagues could fire paintballs at each other with the excuse of bonding. Sometimes humans truly came up with the weirdest ideas ever. But, at the same time, Kuroo was more than sure this was the place he where he handed over the wicked basket with the antichrist in it. Something must have happened in the meantime that made the nuns leave. 

As they were walking in the hallway, a girl came running towards him. Her arm was covered in paint but her own gun was still tight in her hands.

“Who’s winning?” she asked.

“You’re all going to lose,” Kuroo smirked. He snapped his fingers and suddenly the sound of a machine gun, a real one, could be heard coming from the garden. 

“What the hell did you just do?” Oikawa asked, alarmed. 

“I felt they wanted real guns so I just gave them what they wanted,” he said, nonchalantly. 

“There are people out there shooting at each other!” Oikawa yelled. 

“Well, it lends weight to their moral argument,” Kuroo smiled. That smug and self-satisfied smile Oikawa wanted to forcibly wipe off his face every time he saw it. “Everyone has free will, including the right to murder! Just think of it as a microcosm of the universe.”

“They’re murdering each other!” Oikawa insisted, stopping in the middle of the hallway. He was worried, far more than he was when they were still in Tokyo. Kuroo’s temper never chilled down, he kept heating up and up and now Oikawa could sense it was about to explode. The smallest thing could have made him snap and lose it completely, but Oikawa wasn’t going to let it happen.

“No, they aren't,” Kuroo scoffed. “No one’s killing anyone, they’re all having miraculous escapes. It wouldn’t be any fun otherwise.”

“You know Tetsu,” Oikawa said with a sigh of relief, getting closer to him. “I’ve always said that, deep down, you really are quite a nice-”

And it exploded. 

Anger flashed over Kuroo’s face as he took Oikawa by the collar with both hands, slamming him against the wall. His nose was touching Oikawa’s and he could feel his hot breath on his skin, this time carrying such a different feeling from just moments before. The intensity of Kuroo’s darkness was overwhelming but Oikawa wasn’t scared. How could he be?

“I’m a demon, I’m not nice, I’m never nice.” Kuroo hissed, furious. “Nice is a four-letter word, I will not have -”

Oikawa touched Kuroo’s face, stroking his cheekbone with his thumb. That was enough to make his rant stop. He felt his hand shaking a little. Oikawa didn’t know exactly what it was, but it was anything but fear. It was the uncontrollable need to calm him, to tell him everything was alright. That he didn’t need to be so afraid to be who he was. Because he was beautiful. 

Oikawa’s lips trembled but his hold got stronger over Kuroo’s face. He could see his fangs, bare and deadly, quivering over his full bottom lip. He could see his eyes behind the dark lenses, wide and disoriented. Once again, not a drop of evil inside them. Oikawa closed his eyes and leaned forward, his lips ghosting over Kuroo’s before -

“Excuse me, gentlemen, sorry to break up an intimate moment, can I help you?” a woman said. 

They both snapped their faces in her direction but Kuroo didn’t let Oikawa go. 

“You...” Kuroo whispered. 

“Saints and demons preserve us, it’s master Kuroo,” the woman said, walking back and looking suddenly terrified. 

Kuroo snapped his fingers to freeze her in place and gave Oikawa one last long look before he stepped away from him.

“You didn’t have to do that,” Oikawa said softly, readjusting his coat. “You could have just asked her!”

“Oh, uhm, right, of course, yeah,” Kuroo stammered. “Excuse me ma’am, we’re two supernatural entities just looking for the notorious son of satan. Wonder if you might help us with our enquiries?”

Oikawa sighed, getting closer to the woman. “Ahem, look… hello,” Oikawa smiled politely. “You weren’t by any chance a nun here at this convent 11 years ago, were you?”

“I was,” the woman said. 

“Luck of the devil,” Oikawa scoffed.

“What happened to the baby I gave you?” Kuroo asked drily. 

“I swapped him with the son of the American ambassador, such a nice man,” she replied.

“This American ambassador, what was his name? Where did he come from and what did he do with the baby?” Kuroo continued his crossfire of questions. 

“I don’t know.”

“Records, there must have been records,” Oikawa tried. 

“Yes, there were lots of records,” the woman confirmed. “We were very good at keeping records but they were all burned in the fire.”

Kuroo groaned, breaking the window next to him with his fist in exasperation. 

“Is there anything you remember about the baby?” Oikawa asked, subtly glancing to see if Kuroo hurt himself with the shattered glass. 

“He had lovely little toesie-woesies.” 

“Aww,” Oikawa beamed.

Kuroo rolled his eyes and started to walk away. “Let’s go.” 

“You will wake having had a lovely dream about whatever you like best,” Oikawa said softly to the woman. He then snapped his fingers and quickly walked away. 

=

“You’d think he show up, wouldn’t you?” Oikawa asked, resting his head on the passenger seat. His eyes were absently following the trees and the houses as they drove past then. The sun was setting fast, washing everything a pleasant dark orange. “You’d think we could detect him in some way.” 

“He won’t show up, not to us,” Kuroo said. “Protective camouflage. He wouldn’t even know, but his powers will keep him hidden from… prying occult forces.” 

“Occult forces?”

“You and me.”

“I’m not occult! Angels aren’t occult. We’re ethereal.” Oikawa argued. “Is there some other way to detect him?”

“How the heaven should I know?” Kuroo asked, a hint of a sharp edge still in his voice. “Armageddon only happens once, you know? You don’t get to go round again until you make it right. But I know one thing, if we don’t find him it won’t be the war to end all wars, it will be the war to end everything.”

“I know, Tetsu, I know,” Oikawa said, trying to stay calm. One of them must be, after all. “We will find a way, I’m sure we will. Don’t be so pessimistic.” 

“I’m not pessimistic, I’m realistic Tooru,” Kuroo said. “We’re two days away from the end, we don’t have much time.”

Oikawa sighed. The sky around them was already purple, turning into blue. There were a lot of things their supernatural powers could make them do, but one thing neither of them had the power to change was the flow of time. It had always been such an irrelevant matter to the two of them but now…

“You know, there’s a very peculiar feeling to this whole area,” Oikawa said. “I’m astonished you can’t feel it.” 

“I don’t feel anything out of the ordinary.”

“But it’s everywhere, all over here,” Oikawa explained. Since their arrival at the former hospital, the tingle never left Oikawa’s body. It just dimmed and intensified according to where he was, never vanishing completely. There was so much of it around him and he was sure Kuroo could feel it as well, he was just being… difficult. “It’s love. Flashes of love.”

“You’re being ridiculous,” Kuroo scoffed. “The last thing we need right now is -”

Kuroo’s words were cut off by a scream, a loud crash and the car screeching to a halt. 

There was a long, tense silence in the car before Oikawa spoke. “You hit someone.” 

“I didn’t,” Kuroo rectified. “Someone hit me.”

Oikawa rushed out of the car and found a girl lying on the kerb, her bicycle on the ground right next to her. There weren’t evident traces of blood but it was so dark already and it was difficult to see.

“Let there be light,” Oikawa said, snapping his fingers. 

A bright ray of light illuminated the scene and Oikawa could finally approach the girl, quickly checking her condition. He brushed a hand over her wrist, fixing her broken bone before she could realize what was happening. 

“How the hell did you do that?” she asked, trying to stand up. 

Oikawa heard another snap of fingers coming from behind him, quite literally turning the lights off. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, miss,” Oikawa said, helping her.

“I think I hit my head,” she groaned, leaning on him. 

Oikawa stroked her head, dulling her mild concussion just a bit for it not to hurt but keeping it there just enough to not make her notice the weird things happening around her. Like Kuroo fixing his car with a simple brush of his own hands. 

“My bike,” she said, faintly.

Oikawa went back to take the bike, performing a couple of small fixing miracles while he was at it. “Amazingly resilient, these old machines,” he said. “Where do you need to get to?”

“No!” Kuroo screeched. “No, we’re not giving her a lift! Out of the question, there’s nowhere to put the bike.”

“Except for the bike rack,” Oikawa said with a small smile as he made the aforementioned bike rack appear out of nowhere under Kuroo’s helpless stare. “Do get in, my dear."

The girl looked at the two of them with slight suspicion but got in the car regardless. She was a very beautiful girl, tall and with long, shiny black hair that still had some dry leaves in it. Oikawa wondered what a girl like her was doing out alone at that time, it wasn’t safe at all. 

“So, where are we taking you?” Kuroo asked, peeking from the door. 

“Back to the village, I’ll give you directions,” she said. 

Kuroo made a face at Oikawa before getting in the car as well, showing all his disapproval without needing to say anything. Oikawa just sighed in response. 

To Kuroo’s pleasure, the ride wasn’t a long one at all and they safely got the girl to her house in a matter of minutes. Kuroo even drove at an acceptable human speed which, once again, confirmed he truly was a good person. This time, though, Oikawa didn’t say it out loud. 

Oikawa got out of the car, offering the girl his hand to help her. The bike was already resting against the fence of the little house. 

“My bike…” the girls started, inspecting it. “It didn’t have gears, I’m sure it didn’t have any gears.”

Oikawa heard a suppressed laugh coming from inside the car. 

“Gears?” Oikawa said, getting her attention just for the fraction of a second he needed to fix things. “I don’t think it has any gears! Just a perfectly normal velocipede.” 

“Bicycle,” Kuroo corrected him, getting out of the car as well. “Can we get on now? Get in, angel.”

The girl looked at them one last time before going inside, without saying a single word. Probably it was better that way.

“Nice work with the bike,” Kuroo said as soon as Oikawa got back in the car as well. He started the engine and drove away from the house at full speed.

“Listen, I got carried away, ok?” Oikawa explained. “She’s just a poor girl and you hit her, I wanted to be nice to her!”

“How many times do I have to tell you, she’s the one who hit me!” Kuroo grunted. 

“You didn’t even say sorry!” Oikawa scolded him.

Kuroo scoffed. “Because I’m not!”

“You’re impossible to deal with today, Tetsu,” Oikawa sighed.

“Me?  _ I _ am the impossible one? Do you even listen to yourself when you’re talking? Are you even aware of the things  _ you _ do?” Kuroo burst out. 

No, of course he wasn’t, since everything he said and everything he did was only contributing to make Kuroo more and more furious. It was probably better to call it a night and leave him to cool off alone now. Even if Oikawa’s greatest instinct was to stay with him and help him get better, he knew it was just impossible for him to do that. Not at that time. Not in that situation. 

“Tetsu, listen, I think I have an idea to find the child, I’m going to tell you now and then you can drop me home and do whatever you want all night,” Oikawa said. 

“I don’t need your permission to do whatever I want at night,” Kuroo said in a low hiss. 

“I know you don’t, I’m sorry for implying such a thing,” Oikawa apologized. “What I want to say is that we might get another human to find him, humans are good at finding each other, they’ve been doing it for thousands of years. And the child is partially human. Other humans might be able to sense him since we can’t.”

“He’s the antichrist, he has an automatic defence thingy,” Kuroo replied drily. “Suspicion slides off him like… whatever it is water slides off.”

Oikawa tried his best to hide his smile at seeing Kuroo struggle with finding the right word to use. It was always like that, his brain worked so fast he often lost pieces of his own thoughts along the way. It was cute, but of course that was another thing Oikawa didn’t dare tell him. 

“Got any better ideas?” Oikawa asked. “One, single, better idea?”

“No,” Kuroo admitted. 

“Excellent, because there’s something I need to tell you about that,” Oikawa started. “I have a…  _ network _ of highly trained human agents spread across the country. I could set them searching for the boy.” 

“You do?” Kuroo asked, mildly surprised. “I actually have something similar… human operatives.”

“Do you think they ought to work together?”

“I don’t think that’s a very good idea,” Kuroo shook his head. “My lot are not very sophisticated, politically speaking.” 

“No, neither are mine,” Oikawa said. “So we tell our respective operatives to look for the boy? Unless you have a better idea.” 

“Ducks!” Kuroo said loudly. “They’re what water slides of!”

It was Oikawa’s turn to shake his head, once again with some fondness to conceal. “Just drive the car, please.” 

As promised, Oikawa stayed silent for the rest of the ride home and Kuroo didn’t try to start any cheap conversation. It was so different from the comfortable silence they shared that morning, Oikawa could feel how distant Kuroo was, not because he was lost in thought, but because he was purposely creating some emotional space between them. Kuroo was there, close enough for his heart to reach, but it was like an invisible wall was put up between them and Oikawa wanted to bang his fists on it, breaking it down with his bare hands. 

For the first time since he’d known him, Oikawa felt like Kuroo was slipping through his fingers and he had no idea how to keep him close. But he wouldn’t force him if he didn’t want to. Probably it was for the best, having some distance between each other. Not that Oikawa didn’t have any thoughts to sort about that anyway. 

Once they arrived by his bookshop, Oikawa said goodbye with a small bow and got out of the car. He was surprised to notice Kuroo did as well. 

“You know, if you lined up everyone in the whole world and asked them to describe the Velvet Underground, nobody  _ at all _ would say ‘bebop’,” Kuroo said, resting his arms on the car roof and his chin above them. 

Oikawa gave him a small smile, not really knowing what to say, scared he would say the wrong thing and upset him once more. As he was closing the car door, Oikawa noticed something on the back seat. 

“There’s a book there,” he said, frowning.

“It’s not mine, I don’t read books,” Kuroo shrugged.

“It has to belong to the young lady you hit with your car!” 

“I’m in enough trouble as it is, I’m not going to start returning lost property,” Kuroo said. “That’s what your lot do.”

Oikawa took the book in his hands and widened his eyes as soon as he read the title. It couldn’t be possible. Earlier that morning, he received a phone call from someone asking him if he had it, someone saying he would have paid any possible amount of money to have it. “The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter”, the only prophetic book missing from his collection. He had Martha the Gypsy, Ignatius Sybilla, Otweel Binns and even a signed copy of Nostradamus’ book. Not to mention his original scroll of St. John the Divine of Patmos. 

Agnes Nutter’s was a book he only heard of, a book which allegedly contained only true prophecies. If there was a hint, a key, anything to bring them out of that situation, it surely was in that book.

“Why don’t you just send it to the Fussa post office addressed to the mad woman with a bicycle?” Kuroo mocked him.

“Oh, yeah, jolly good, yes,” Oikawa said, closing the door and making his way to his bookshop.

“So we’ll both contact our respective human operatives, then?” Kuroo asked him.

“All right,” Oikawa nodded.

“Are you alright?”

“Perfectly, yes,” Oikawa said, knowing he was sounding anything but convincing. He didn’t care, he just wanted to go inside and read every single prophecy of that book, praying for something to save them. “Uh, tip-top, absolutely tickety-boo.” 

“Tickety-boo?” Kuroo echoed, confused.

“Mind how you go,” Oikawa said, closing the door of the bookshop behind him.

He took a deep breath, closing his eyes. He had to push all his concerns about Kuroo aside for now, clear his mind and focus on the task he had in front of him. He had some serious work to get done and he only had one night to do it. And this time he had no intention of screwing it up. 

=

“Right,” Kuroo said to himself, still staring at the closed door of Oikawa’s bookshop. “That was a thing.” 

He groaned, getting back into his car and holding the steering wheel in contemplation. 

Honestly, what the fuck. 

Among all the days they spent together, that one was for sure the weirdest one of all. He thought that in six thousand years he came to understand a little bit how angels, or at least that one angel, worked but it turned out he really didn’t. 

His mind kept coming back to that moment, to Oikawa’s hand on his face, to his warmth spreading on his cold skin, to his eyes looking at him ever so lovingly, to his lips close to his own, far too close. 

What the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck. 

What was that? Was he about to kiss him? Was he? Was he really? He definitely felt like Oikawa wanted to kiss him, he really did. It wasn’t a delusion this time, he felt Oikawa was abandoning himself to him, not trying to overpower him with his light but getting himself accustomed to the darkness, embracing it, accepting it. But still, fighting it. Not with strength but with love. 

Love. 

And what did he give him in return? Apathy, animosity and resentment. Because he’s a demon and demons don’t do  _ love _ . They just fuck things up, punish the people they need the most and then spend the night regretting every single one of their life choices. 

Great. 

Why did he even imply he had some freaky plans for the night, anyway? He never, not even once, engaged in the human pleasures he was so good at tempting other people into. Despite having a body which could grant everything humans could do, feelings and delights included, he never smoked a cigarette, never did compulsive shopping, never killed anybody, never did drugs, never had sex. He never even kissed anyone. Why would he? He barely even ate and that happened only to keep Oikawa company, or to have an excuse to stay with him, anyway. Ok, he liked to drink. That was one human thing he truly enjoyed but still he never drank alone. It made him feel even more miserable than he already was. 

It was a hell of a modest life, if he said so himself. 

And yet he had to pretend he was that crazy demon, spending the night hopping from one night club to the other, fucking random humans just because he could, having fun and doing whatever bad things demons usually do when they spend time on Earth.

Pathetic. He was the definition of pathetic. 

Kuroo glanced at the bookshop. The light was still on, Oikawa was still there, just a couple of meters away. He could go in, apologize, say he was just a stupid piece of hell and that they could continue from where they had been interrupted. 

He could have, but he didn’t. He started the car, blasted some music and drove straight to his apartment. If he had to be depressed all night, at least he would do it in private, there was no need for the whole world to see.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here you have it, another chapter of dumbasses pining for each other while trying to save the world <3


	4. Not Anymore

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You go too fast for me, Tetsu.”

Kuroo slowly took off his clothes, one by one. The black jacket, the grey scarf, the vest, the low-cut t-shirt. He peeled off his trousers and was about to discard his underwear as well but decided against it. It was too breezy without it. He put his sunglasses down on his bedside table where nothing really was ever placed. 

He opened his dark wings, outstretching and flapping them a bit. The moonshine was reflecting on them as it was on his pale skin, casting small silver flashes of light all over the room. 

Tokyo was sparkling outside his huge window, as alive at that time of night as ever, a spectacle Kuroo lost himself looking at so many times, but not that night. He jumped on his massive bed, holding a pillow close to his chest. Demons didn’t really need any sleep but he enjoyed some recreational naps from time to time. His bed was mostly a place where he could lay down, waiting for time to pass, enjoying the silence and the coldness of the fabric. 

And think. 

His bed was Kuroo’s favourite place for his neverending overthinking sessions. He closed his eyes, letting his mind take him wherever it wanted. 

That night, it was back in time. 

He remembered the great flood day, when he met Oikawa right outside Noah’s ark, as he was making sure he took all the right people and right animals with him. If only humans knew that their beloved unicorns could have been saved as well that day, but one made a run for it and was already too late. 

_ “God’s a bit tetchy,” _ Oikawa said. Tetchy. As if drowning an entire country, kids included, could be classified as tetchy. In fact, the kids were what upset Kuroo the most. You just… can’t kill kids. That was a thing he would have expected his people to do, not them. That’s why he never understood angels. Or god. Or anyone in that lot really. 

Oikawa tried to justify the situation by saying that, when the great flooding was over, god would have gifted the world with a new thing called a “rainbow” as a promise not to drown everyone again. 

_ “How kind,” _ he commented and Oikawa scolded him because he just couldn't judge the almighty as god’s plans were…  _ ineffable _ . Oikawa really liked to use that world and Kuroo loved to pretend he couldn’t stand it. That was probably the oldest inside joke they had. 

He remembered that hot summer day in Rome when the angel appeared out of nowhere as he was trying his best to get drunk. He asked him if he was “still a demon”, as if he could have turned into something else in the meantime. Oikawa’s smile was so small yet so bright and the sun was reflecting all his goldness on his shiny cheekbones. He sat down next to him, way too close, a cup of wine in his hand, forcing him to clink glasses with him.

It was the first time they drank together. It was also the first time they ate together. It started with Oikawa getting overly excited at food, like he still did, and asking him if he would let himself be tempted by some oysters. Oysters. Kuroo would have let himself be tempted by so many other things when it came to him, but oysters were a good start. He never had oysters before, after all. 

He would never forget Oikawa’s embarrassed face as he realized what he had just said. He was so cute Kuroo felt the urge to punch him in the face. More than two thousand years had passed since that day, their first  _ date _ , but the feeling never dimmed a bit, if possible it only increased. 

Kuroo’s memories took him to one of the most important days in their relationship, the day they officially made a sort of an arrangement, formalizing their relationship. It was a non-interference pact, where they simply cancelled each other out, not really winning, not really losing, while always being able to show their respective offices how troublesome their opponent had been in his effort to accomplish his mission. After all, their higher-ups never really cared how things got done, they just wanted to cross those things off the list and forget about them. 

It also meant they would actually help each other out and work together in times of need, or work in place of the other if they were to work in the same place. After all they were both angels, so Kuroo could still perform some divine ecstasy or  _ demonic miracles _ , as he liked to call them (getting people to actually see that gloomy Hamlet play by Shakespeare was actually one of them, probably his best one). Of course, Oikawa was the one who had the hardest time accepting his part of the arrangement, but it came naturally to him, eventually. 

It meant they both recognized they had more in common with each other than they had with their respective sides, which felt like nothing but remote allies to them.

It meant they would protect each other first. 

It meant they were on  _ their _ side, first and foremost. 

They never really signed anything to officially stipulate it, of course, they toasted with some sake under a cherry blossom tree in full bloom, the one they still sat under on their favourite bench in Ueno park. They spent the rest of the day just enjoying the flowers, the way the sun filtered between the branches and the leaves, the delicate dance of the petals occasionally falling onto their faces. The wind was carrying the cherry blossom smell along with Oikawa’s and that was the first time Kuroo caught himself thinking that spending eternity like that, just like that, wouldn’t have been half bad. 

_ “If hell finds out, they won’t just be angry, they will destroy you,” _ Oikawa had said, his eyes so glossy and worried they made his heart sting painfully.

_ “Nobody ever has to know,” _ Kuroo reassured him. He remembered wanting to touch his face, wipe those unshed tears away. 

It had been their secret. It still was. 

And then there was Paris. The infamous Paris 1973. That time he had to rescue the dumbass angel from being locked up in the Bastille and almost beheaded because he got  _ peckish _ and wanted to eat some crepes and a load of brioche in Paris in the middle of the French Revolution. And of course he went out dressed like the little royal doll that he was and promptly got caught without being able to free himself as he was just being reprimanded for performing too many frivolous miracles. 

The amount of jackassery he had to endure because of him was honestly embarrassing at that point. But at least the crepes Oikawa bought for him to pay off his debt were decent. 

Kuroo remembered the first time they fought, because his mind was mean like that. They were in London and it was 1862. St. James Park, their second favourite park in the world. They’d gone so long, thousand of years without a single fight, and from that moment on they started to happen more frequently, some more intense than others, some loud and some completely silent. 

That one, though, was absolutely one of the vocal ones. Once again, courtesy of Kuroo’s overthinking. At the time, he was obsessed with the idea of everything going wrong. He wanted insurance, something he could use to fight his own race if they decided to come for him. And for Oikawa. But of course Oikawa had to misunderstand that and thought he wanted some holy water because, if something went wrong, he would have drank it and disappeared. Just like that, like a suicide pill. 

_ “It will destroy you,” _ Oikawa said, once again, with the same eyes as the first time. He had always been so obsessed with the idea of Kuroo being reduced to a pile of nothing for some reason. 

And then the stab in the back. 

_ “Do you know what trouble I’d be in if they knew I’d been fraternising? It’s completely out of the question.” _

_ “Fraternising?” _

_ “Well, whatever you wish to call it. I don’t think there is any point in discussing it further.” _

_ “I have lots of other people to fraternise with, angel.” _

_ “Of course you do.” _

_ “I don’t need you.” _

_ “The feeling is mutual, obviously.” _

Obviously. 

What a fucking idiot. Why were they so good at not communicating properly with each other? Oikawa getting over protective and then rejecting him, Kuroo once again pretending to be who he wasn’t. It wasn’t true that he didn’t need him. He did. He very much did. He really hoped that feeling was mutual as well. 

They went on for the longest time without seeing or talking to each other. Until the day he had to rescue the dumbass angel once again. Had to. Not that anyone really asked him to, but he just couldn’t risk him getting discorporated by a bunch of stupid ass nazis Oikawa got himself involved with, thinking he could get them arrested. He even went as far as going inside a church, because of course their meeting had to be in one of the hardest places for him to reach, walking onto consecrated land which burned his feet each step he took just to get him out of trouble. 

With a little demonic intervention which made the whole church explode and a real miracle on Oikawa’s part which kept them all in one piece, it was done. He was still pretty proud of himself for saving Oikawa’s beloved prophecy books, the bargaining chip of their meeting, from the explosion. He remembered Oikawa’s muffled voice as he said  _ “that was very kind of you” _ , with his face all covered in dark dust and his eyes blazing with the reflection of the flames around them. The smile that lit up his face when he realized Kuroo remembered about the books and kept them safe for him. Kuroo had never been good with words but with that gesture he hoped Oikawa truly understood how much he meant to him, despite all the mess that came before. He hoped he realized there was no one other than him. There never had been and never would be. 

And then, one last memory. Probably the most painful of them all. The one that still haunted his heart and flashed before his eyes every time he closed them, every time he felt Oikawa getting closer to him, every time he though Oikawa could want something  _ more _ from him. 

It was 1967, central London once again, and Kuroo had just finished planning the robbery of a church because he still needed his holy water insurance. He never mentioned it again to Oikawa, he didn’t want to break the fragile balance they had been able to achieve. And, just like the miracle that he was, Oikawa himself appeared in the car, knowing everything about his plan already, remind him once again how much holy water would not only kill his body, but destroy him completely. 

_ “I can’t have you risking your life,” _ he said. His eyes were so scared and so may things were battling inside them as he took out a thermos and handed it to him. It was full of holy water. After everything he said, he still got it for him. 

Was he really that afraid to lose him? Was he? 

Kuroo really thought that was it. It was the one thing that would cost Oikawa everything, the thing that not only made him go against heaven, but against himself as well. Against everything he was, everything he believed in, against everything he wanted. He did it for Kuroo. 

In that moment, Kuroo truly thought Oikawa loved him. Not just how he loved everyone because he’s an angel and that was what he did, but in a different way. That he loved him more than anything, anyone else. 

And so he thought he might try to see if he was right or not. 

_ “Can I drop you anywhere?” _

_ “No, thank you.” _

Kuroo pouted. He didn’t want to but his heart acted faster than his brain, like it always did.

_ “Oh, don’t look so disappointed. Perhaps one day we could… I don’t know, go for a picnic. Dine at the Ritz.” _

_ “I’ll give you a lift, anywhere you want to go.” _

_ “You go too fast for me, Tetsu.” _

Words so sharp they left bleeding cuts on him that never truly healed. Scars that painfully pulled every time he got a little too close to Oikawa, reminding him of his place: never by his side but behind, as a shadow is supposed to be when it comes into light. 

=

_ Tokyo. Present day. One day to the end of the world.  _

The first rays of dawn found Oikawa exactly where the moon left him: at his desk reading Agnes Nutter’s book, taking notes and looking more and more amazed. 

There were so many things in that book, so many prophecies which proved themselves to be true. There was even one about him, finding the book and uncovering the truth, all with a nice cup of cocoa next to him. And it was exactly the mention of the cup of cocoa, which was still on the desk by the book, that sold him on the legitimacy of the book. 

He was on prophecy number 3817 when the phone rang, startling him. 

“Any news? Found the missing antichrist yet?” Kuroo’s raspy voice said from the other end of the phone.

“No, no news. Nothing, nothing at all,” Oikawa replied, too quickly not to sound suspicious probably, but he indeed was in a hurry. “If I had anything I would tell you, obviously. Immediately, we’re friends, why would you even ask?”

“Oh, there’s no news here either,” Kuroo said. “Call me if you find anything.”

“Absolutely, why would you think I wouldn’t?” Oikawa lied, putting the phone down. 

Leaving Kuroo out of it was the right decision, he kept repeating to himself. He would find the child, tell heaven about it, they will deal with it and avoid the war. As simple as that. He would convince them that avoiding war was for the best. They had to listen to him. 

It was the only advantage they could have over hell and prevent everything from ending. Kuroo made it clear he wouldn’t kill the kid himself so putting him in the hands of angels was the best option they had. An option Kuroo would have never agreed with and that was why he had to be kept out of it, no matter how much it cost Oikawa. He’d shared everything with him for thousands of years, but this was an extreme time which required extreme measures. 

Oikawa read the prophecy once again, scribbling the numbers he contained within it on a piece of paper. It couldn’t be that simple, but it was worth a try. 

He took the phone and dialled the number, eagerly waiting. It rang a couple of times before a woman answered. 

“Hello, this is the Hinata family, who is it?”

In the background, Oikawa heard a child calling his mother, telling her something about a dog being able to walk on his hind legs.

A child. With a dog. In Fussa. 

Oikawa froze. It was him. He found him. He found the antichrist. 

“Sorry, right number!” he said, abruptly ending the call. 

Having a family name made everything easier. A couple of days before Kuroo had stolen for him a register with all the names, addresses and phone numbers of the people living in the city. Luckily enough there was only one family registered under the name Hinata. A mother with her child. No husband. The child was born 11 years ago and his birthday had been 6 days ago. It was definitely him. 

His name was Shouyou, written in the kanji of  _ “flying heaven” _ .

Hell surely had a twisted sense of humor. 

Oikawa collected his things and left the bookshop immediately to go to his head office. Someone there must listen to him, there was a way to make things right, he found it, they just had to eliminate the baby and make everything ok. It was simple, it was logical, it was one single human sacrifice to save the entire world. They’d done it before, after all. 

He took the main entrance and found Gabriel and a bunch of other angels waiting for him already.

“So, Oikawa, I got your message, have you got something big?” Gabriel asked.

“Well, yes, it’s about the antichrist. I have reason to think that the other side might have lost track of him,” Oikawa said. 

“Lost track of him?” Gabriel echoed, confused. “He’s the son of the U.S. ambassador, he’s under constant surveillance. And the other side is transporting him to the plains of Megiddo as we speak. Apparently, that’s the traditional starting point. The four horsemen ride out and everything follows. It’s the last great battle between heaven and hell.”

“But you said you have reasons, Oikawa, what are those reasons?” the archangel Micheal asked. 

“I have a wily adversary on earth, a demon, Kuroo Tetsurou, who has been following my every step since the child arrived on earth. But I’ve been following his steps as well and there’s something strange in the way he acts which makes me think that the ambassador’s son may have been a ruse and the actual antichrist might be… somewhere else.” Oikawa explained. 

“Where?” Gabriel asked.

“I still haven’t figured it out yet,” Oikawa lied in the face of heaven. He did it before he could realize what he was saying but something in his heart told him it wasn’t safe to tell them the whole truth. He couldn’t trust them, not entirely. “I can put my team of agents on his tracks to investigate the possibility.” 

“I don’t think finding him would change anything at all,” Gabriel said. “There was war in heaven, long before the earth was created. Kuroo and the rest were cast out but nothing was ever really settled.”

“I suppose it wasn’t,” Oikawa commented, drily. “But there doesn’t have to be another war, does there?”

“Of course there does, otherwise how would we win it? That’s why, as much as we appreciate your hypotheticals, I’m afraid we have other things to do. The Earth isn’t going to end itself, you know.” Gabriel dismissed him. He walked away and all the other angels followed him, as always. 

So heaven truly didn’t change its mind in all those years. They still wanted the war and didn’t care about stopping it first. They didn’t care about anything but their victory, really. 

Oikawa clenched his fists. If no one was going to stop it, he would stop it himself. 

If heaven wasn’t going to do good, he would be the one to do it. 

He was an angel and that what angels existed for.

Do good. 

“One more thing,” Gabriel said, suddenly materializing in front of him. “Now wrap up what you need to wrap up on earth, report back to active service and… you know,” Gabriel gestured vaguely towards Oikawa’s stomach. “Come back as a  _ lean _ and mean fighting machine. Lean and mean. Lean and mean. Remember! What are you?” he winked, disappearing as quickly as he appeared. 

Oikawa sighed, eyes to the ground and one hand on his belly, pinching it a bit. 

“I’m soft.”

=

The third alternative rendezvous was a bandstand in the middle of an almost forgotten park in the outskirts of Tokyo. Kuroo called to meet him and hung the phone up before Oikawa could come up with an excuse not to see him.

In truth, he really wanted to see him. He missed him. But he couldn’t trust himself to look at him and not tell him everything he discovered, everything heaven truly wanted. He couldn’t tell him about his plan, about the fact that he indeed fulfilled his end of the deal and put his agents to search for the boy, that he just needed to find someone who would kill the child and then it would be done. 

Because he was an angel and angels don’t share their plans with the enemy.

He needed Kuroo in all his demon self to stay out of it. He knew heaven was already onto him, the last thing he needed was for heaven to do something to Kuroo in order to punish Oikawa. He couldn’t afford to let them know about their connection. 

After all, the agreement was about saving each other first, and that’s what he was doing, even if Kuroo didn’t know, even if Kuroo would probably hate him for it. 

It wasn’t a choice. 

It wasn’t the world  _ or _ him. He would save the world  _ and _ him. 

He was going to be a proper angel for once and fix everything, alone. He knew he had to do the right thing, he knew that was the right thing, even if he couldn’t understand the why heaven would think that was the right thing to do. 

When Oikawa arrived, Kuroo was already there, waiting for him. 

“Well?” he prompted as soon as he saw him. “Any news?”

“What kind of news?” Oikawa asked, a little nervous. He’d never been nervous with him before. 

“Have you found the missing antichrist’s name, address and shoe size yet?” Kuroo asked. His voice had a cutting edge to it. He was visibly nervous. 

“His shoe size?” Oikawa raised an eyebrow. “Why would I have his shoe size?”

“It’s a joke,” Kuroo sighed. “I’ve got nothing either.”

“It’s the great plan, Tetsu…” Oikawa said. 

“Yeah, for the record, great pustulent mangled bollocks to the great blasted plan!” he yelled, so loudly a flock of birds took flight in fear. 

“May you be forgiven,” Oikawa said in a whisper of a voice. 

“I won’t be forgiven,” Kuroo said, getting close to him. “Not ever. It’s a part of a demon’s job description. Unforgivable, that’s what I am.” 

Oikawa’s heart twisted painfully in his chest. “You were an angel once.”

“That was a long time ago,” Kuroo said with a grimace. “Listen, we find the boy, my agents can do it.”

“And then what? We eliminate him?” Oikawa asked. 

“Someone does, I’m not personally up for killing kids,” Kuroo said.

“You’re the demon, I’m the nice one,” Oikawa reminded him, and himself as well. “I don’t have to kill children. If you kill him then the world gets a reprieve and heaven does not have blood on its hands.”

That was it, that was the only thing that could have made him change his mind. If Kuroo agreed to be the one killing the child, them everything would be good, jolly good, as it should have been. 

“Oh, no blood on your hands?” Kuroo retorted. “That’s a bit holier-than-thou, isn’t it?”

“I am a great deal holier than thou, that’s the whole point!” Oikawa said angrily. 

“You should kill the boy yourself,” Kuroo hissed. “Holi-ly.”

“I’m not killing anyone!” Oikawa shouted, averting his gaze. 

“This is ridiculous,” Kuroo scoffed. “You’re ridiculous. I don’t even know why I’m still talking to you.”

“Well, frankly, neither do I,” Oikawa said. 

“Enough, I’m leaving,” Kuroo said, turning around and walking away from him. 

“You can’t leave, Tetsu,” Oikawa cried out. He didn’t even know why he called him back since he came here exactly to push him away. But it was too difficult. “There’s no place for you to go!”

“There’s no place for me by your side either.” 

Oikawa could hear the distinct sound of his heart breaking, seconds before the pain came. 

As if Kuroo heard it as well, he came back, this time erasing the distance between them and cupping Oikawa’s face in his hands. 

“But even if this all ends up in a puddle of burning goo,” Kuroo said, looking at Oikawa ever so lovingly. “We can go off together.”

“Go off together?” Oikawa said, his voice choked. “Listen to yourself.”

“How long have we been friends? Six thousand years.” Kuroo whispered. “We’ve been together for so long, you and me. It has always been you and me. Against the world. Against heaven and hell. Why is it different this time?”

Because everything was different. 

It wasn’t like they had to mess with a bunch of humans so that one of them could be spared a trip to Edinburgh. It wasn’t a simple “one of us does the blessing and the tempting too”. This was the apocalypse. The end of the world. They couldn’t get away with disobeying their instructions because, this time, every single one of their respective parties would be paying attention. To everything. To the two of them especially. 

“Friends?” Oikawa let out in a small laugh, freeing himself from Kuroo’s hold. “We’re not friends. We’re an angel and a demon. We have nothing whatsoever in common, I don’t even like you!”

Kuroo scoffed. “You do.”

“Even if I did know where the antichrist was, I wouldn’t tell you, we’re on opposite sides!”

“We’re on our side!” Kuroo thundered.

Kuroo was right. They were. They always had been. That was what the arrangement was all about. But if he gave in to the temptation of joining him one last time, of going back to their happy bubble despite what happened to the world, he would fall. That one step wouldn’t just lead him to  _ their _ side, it would lead him over to the other side entirely. And he didn’t want that. He wanted to be on the good side, on the side that saved people. 

He was terrified. By himself. By his heart. By everything he was feeling. By everything that was happening. By how badly things were going. By the possibility of losing Kuroo forever. He could feel in his heart he was so close. He could hear it screaming Kuroo’s name so desperately. It would have been so easy. It had always been so easy to choose Kuroo. He chose him over everything for six thousand years. But now he couldn’t. He had to remember who he was. He had to say the right words and do the right thing. 

“There’s no our side, Tetsu,” Oikawa said, tears filling his eyes and making everything blurry. “Not anymore. It’s over.” 

Words left his mouth, the right words, and yet they felt so strange. So wrong. So untrue. 

Oikawa was ready to endure his fury, but nothing happened. Kuroo’s darkness didn’t rise up a bit. If possible, it dimmed. But his pain. Oh, that he could feel so clearly. 

“Right,” Kuroo said, too many emotions on his face. “Have a nice doomsday.” 

Oikawa stayed motionless, watching Kuroo walk away from him, not turning back one single time, until his silhouette was nothing but a blurred dot between the trees of the park. 

Then he collapsed to his knees sobbing uncontrollably. His fingers touched his face, the warmth of Kuroo’s hands barely lingering there like a ghost. He squished it, wanting to trap it, to keep that one last thing for himself, but it was already gone. 

The battle between his heart and his mind had taken a greater toll on him than he imagined. 

Hew was so confused. 

He knew he did the right thing. He was an angel, of course that was the right thing. But then why was he feeling so empty now? So guilty? So wrong?

He was missing Kuroo so much it was killing him already, devouring him from the inside like a wild beast. He couldn’t feel anything but loss and excruciating pain that choked the breath from his body. 

His heart shattered, leaving pieces everywhere, their sharp edges cutting like blades. But Oikawa didn’t care. He collected every single one of them, even the tiniest bits, holding them close to his chest, no matter how much it was wounding him. 

This was probably his punishment. The punishment the divine plan had for him for having loved a demon more than anything and anyone else. 


	5. The Battle Commences

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You’re so clever. How can somebody as clever as you be so stupid?” 

_ Tokyo. Present day. The day of the end of the world.  _

Kuroo was sitting in an empty movie theatre, watching Detective Pikachu with a family size bucket of salted caramel popcorn like the loser that he was. Just chilling there, being miserable with more intensity than usual. 

Not that Pokemon was making him miserable. He liked Pokemon. In fact, he was the one who guided the hand in composing the infamous Lavender Town music in the original Red and Green version. He also was the one who made sure the music was changed in the later releases of the game because kids were starting to get scared for real and he didn’t want that. He just wanted it to be kind of spooky, not a song that could potentially harm them. But still he was pretty proud of all the urban legends his great musical masterpiece still fomented to this day. None of them were true, but it made him look like a terrible demon who was ready to take advantage of poor, defenceless children and that was perfect on his resume. 

The popcorn was awfully sweet. How on earth did Oikawa eat it? It was overly sweet and a bit tacky, the kind of thing that would get you nauseous after two or three handfuls. And yet he kept eating it, even if he wasn’t even hungry, because it reminded him of the stupid angel and he was in the mood to just inflict some more pain on himself.

He wondered if that was how humans felt when they were said to be heartbroken. 

Kuroo never really understood all those people who called upon heaven or hell to make their pain stop. He observed them as they desperately cried despite being physically unwounded, barely holding themselves together, incoherent words falling from their mouths. He never understood how humans could let other humans destroy them like that.

Now he did. Now he knew there were wounds so deep and invisible to the eye that only lovers had the power to inflict them. That kind of suffering could only be an inside job. Only a person already all the way inside a heart could shatter it with just a few words.

_ “There’s no our side, Tetsu. Not anymore. It’s over.” _

When heartbroken, most of the humans were also angry, but Kuroo wasn’t. He was surprisingly quiet. It was the end of the world, he was going to get wiped off anyway. He was kind of glad he only knew that feeling for the first time that day, at least it wouldn’t last long. But he was sad he’d live only one day in the full awareness of being in love with Oikawa. 

Or maybe not. 

Kuroo knew, he always knew, but never accepted it. Now he did. He knew the moment he let Oikawadestroy him completely, the same way Oikawa was so afraid holy water would. Ironic, wasn’t it?

As ironic as god had been that time when he put in the garden of Eden, right in front of him, the only thing he was never or will ever be allowed to have. 

“What the heaven is going on, Kuroo?” one of the characters in the movie said. “What have you done?”

“I’m sorry, who is it?” Kuroo asked, confused. The voice was kind of familiar though.

“It’s Hastur!” the man on the big screen said turning around. It was the demon with the shabby blonde hair. Hastur, that was his name. “It’s about the boy we took to the fields of Megiddo. The dog is not with him, he knows nothing of the great war, he is not our master’s son! He even said that I… smelled of poo.”

“Well, you can see his point,” Kuroo said, trying to suppress a laugh. 

“You’re a dead demon, Kuroo,” Hastur said. “You stay where you are, we’re coming to collect you.”

“I don’t think so,” Kuroo said, rushing out of the cinema. 

He started the engine of his car and drove as fast as he could, reaching Oikawa’s bookshop in no time. There was no time to play the heartbroken game. He’d had enough of this  _ I love you but I can’t be with you _ nonsense already. For fuck’s sake. He would get there, say whatever Oikawa wanted to hear, collect his stubborn angel and leave the planet before it was too late. 

And be damned the end of the fucking world. 

Kuroo spotted him down the road to the shop. He slammed on the brakes and jumped out of the car. 

“Angel!” he called him, unconcerned by the fact that they were in the middle of the street. “I’m sorry! I apologize, whatever I said I didn’t mean it.” 

Oikawa looked so happy for a moment, his eyes lit up and his lips turned out in a smile but it was gone as soon as Kuroo blinked. The Oikawa he found then looked like someone who had just been spit out from the gates of hell. He was pale and had red, swollen eyes, cracked lips and was shivering like one of the plants in his apartment. Even his signature perfect hair was a mess. Kuroo’s heart clenched at the sight. 

“Work with me, I’m apologizing here. Yes? Good. Now get in the car,” Kuroo said, getting close to him.

“What?” Oikawa screeched, as if he had just at that moment realised who Kuroo was and what he wanted. “No!”

“The forces of hell have figured out it was my fault, they’re coming to get me, to  _ destroy _ me,” Kuroo explained. “But we can run away together! To Alpha Centauri! Lots of spare planets there, nobody would even notice us!”

“Tetsu, you’re being ridiculous,” Oikawa said. His voice sounded close to cracking. “Look, I’m quite sure if I can just reach the right people then I can get all this sorted out.”

“There aren’t any right people!” Kuroo said, exasperated with Oikawa’s absurd belief in the goodness of heaven. “There’s just god, moving in mysterious ways and not talking to any of us!” 

“Yes, and this is why I’m going to have a word with the almighty and then the almighty will fix it,” Oikawa said. 

Kuroo wanted to slap him in the face. He sounded like a child firmly believing his parents would fix any problems and make the world perfectly fine again. It wasn’t like that. Heaven and hell had forsaken them both a long time ago.

“That won’t happen!” Kuroo bawled. “You’re so clever. How can somebody as clever as you be so stupid?” 

Oikawa’s eyes trembled, losing themselves in his own for a moment. 

“I forgive you,” he just said. 

It was done. Again. Well, for now. He would deal with his hellish lads first and then come back and literally kidnap his angel if that was what it took to make him use that rusted brain of his. 

Kuroo exhaled sharply, going back to his car. 

“I’m going home, Angel. I’m getting my stuff and I’m leaving. And when I’m off in the stars I won’t even think about you!” he yelled like the dramatic idiot that he was. 

= 

Watching Kuroo walk away had been hard enough the first time. Oikawa was glad his heart was already in pieces otherwise it would have broken even more. 

He was so beautiful. He always knew he was, but it wasn’t just his body. It was his heart. There was so much light in it and he didn’t even know. So much love. 

Oikawa sighed. Despite how painful it was to see him again, he was glad. Just knowing he was still there, that he hadn’t given up on them, was giving him hope. But still, there was one last thing he had to do. He would find a way to talk to god and explain the situation, knowing it was impossible for such a kind entity to decide to make war when peace was possible. There must have been some sort of miscommunication down the line. Even angels can do the wrong thing, after all. He was the living and breathing example of that. 

“Hello Oikawa,” he heard Michael say. He was with two other angels, Sandalphon and Uriel, who surrounded him until his back was pushed to the wall, leaving no room to escape. 

It didn’t look like they had any friendly intentions.

“We’ve just been learning some rather disturbing things about you,” Michael continued. “You’ve been a bit of a  _ fallen angel _ , haven’t you? Consorting with the enemy...”

“I haven’t been consorting,” Oikawa said through gritted teeth. The mention of Kuroo put him on high alert and he was ready to snap any moment. If they wanted to take him down, they were more than welcome to do so, but they couldn't dare touch Kuroo.

“Don’t think your boyfriend in the dark glasses will get you special treatment in hell. He’s in very big trouble too.” Uriel smirked. 

“It’s time to choose sides, Oikawa, for good,” Michael insisted. 

“Making choices is what being human is all about,” Oikawa said. “But we’re not humans. I think our job as angels is to keep the right balance so that they can make their choices.”

“You think too much,” Uriel said, annoyed. 

Before he could react, Sandalphon punched him in the gut, cutting his breath away. Oikawa folded in half, grunting in pain. 

“Why would you do this,” Oikawa panted. “We’re the good guys… if a higher authority knows you’re doing this…”

“Do you think heaven will take your call?” Uriel sneered. “You’re ridiculous.”

The sound of a trumpet erupted from the sky. 

“This is great, it’s starting,” Uriel said. She gave one last pitiful look at Oikawa before she jumped into a cone of light with the other two angels and disappeared. 

“You… you…. ba… bad angels!” Oikawa yelled, fighting the urge to curse. 

He rushed to the shop, walking as fast as he could despite the sharp pain in his ribs. He knew that, despite what people commonly thought, angels could be very strong physically, but that was definitely too much. Sandalphon didn’t just want to warn him, he wanted to hurt him for the sake of it, but he couldn’t expect anything else seeing his records. 

Gladly, Oikawa was just a few steps away from the bookshop. He got inside and locked himself in, closing all the curtains and turning down the lights. He pulled back the big carpet in the centre of the room to reveal a massive circle with runes, letters and signs written in it. He lit eight candles all around it and took a step back. He pressed his palms together, closed his eyes and took a deep breath in.

“This is Principality Oikawa Tooru, I’m looking for… a higher authority,” Oikawa said, but the only thing that came was someone knocking on the door, which he ignored. “This is frightfully important, I’m prepared to take this all the way to the top.”

Oikawa gasped as the circle suddenly moved, emitting a bright white light with some little sparkling dots moving inside.

“I… I need to speak to the almighty,” Oikawa said, swallowing hard. 

“Speak, Oikawa Tooru,” a deep voice said. 

“Am I… speaking to god?” Oikawa asked.

“You are speaking to the Metatron, Tooru, to speak to me is to speak to god. I am the voice of the almighty,” the voice said.

“So like a presidential spokesman?” Oikawa asked, already mildly irritated. “I really need to speak directly to god.”

“What is said to me is said to the almighty.”

Oikawa let out a frustrated sigh. He’d had enough of all this absurd divine hierarchy. 

“Well, I want to complain about the conduct of a few angels, but the important thing is the antichrist,” Oikawa said. “I know who he is, I know where he is. So there doesn’t need to be any of this nonsense about the sea turning to blood or anything. There needn’t be a war! We can save everyone!”

“The point is not to avoid the war, it is to win it,” the voice said. 

In that moment Oikawa realized Kuroo had been right all along. There was no such thing as god wanting to save the earth or any of them. There hadn’t been miscommunication down the line. Those were the plans of heaven all along. They wanted to fight. God wanted to fight and wipe away an entire planet to prove they were better than the fallen angels. 

And he was alone, in the middle of a war he really didn’t want to fight. 

In his angel heart he truly believed, prayed and hoped for god to listen to him and stop the fight, but it was a foolish belief. He’d destroyed and betrayed himself for nothing. 

He’d known what he had to do all along and now he was finally ready. If heaven didn’t intend to eliminate the child, he would do it himself. He was done being the proper angel. None of his colleagues had been anyway. 

“What sort of initiating event would precipitate the war?” Oikawa asked.

“We thought a multi-nation nuclear exchange would be a nice start.”

“Very imaginative.” 

“The battle commences, Tooru, join us,” the voice encouraged him.

“In a jiffy, I just have a couple of things to tie up,” Oikawa said, impatient to end the conversation.

“We will leave the gateway open for you then. Do not dawdle,” the voice said. The light progressively dimmed until it was completely gone. 

“As if,” Oikawa snorted. 

He slowly walked around the circle, careful not to step on it, rushed to the telephone and composed the only number he knew by heart, hoping he hadn’t left already for his trip to space.

“Hi, this is Kuroo Tetsurou. You know what to do, do it with style,” Kuroo’s answering machine replied. 

“Well, I know who you are, you idiot, I telephoned you,” Oikawa said. “Listen, I know where the antichrist is -”

“Yeah, cool, it’s not a good time though, got an old friend here,” Kuroo cut him off, sounding in a rush. 

“But-” Oikawa tried but Kuroo cut the call. 

Well, at least he was still here. 

“You foul fiend!” a voice thundered from behind him, startling him so much that the phone receiver fell from his hands. 

Oikawa turned around and saw the door of his shop, which he had most certainly locked, open and a man standing in the middle of the room. He was dressed in a raincoat and dripping all over the place. The storm must have started, then. 

“Sergeant Sawamura?” he asked, recognizing the head of his group of human agents. 

Sawamura Daichi was a good man. A little denser than the average but still able to get the job done when needed. He was the leader of a group called  _ “the witch finder army” _ , specialized in hunting down witches and all sorts of so called supernatural beings. And, sadly, Oikawa fell exactly into that category. 

“You monster!” he yelled. “Seducing the women to your evil will!”

“Oh, I think perhaps you got the wrong shop,” Oikawa tried to reassure him. 

“You are possessed by a demon and I will now exorcise you with bell, book and candle.”

Well. There had been times where the thought of being possessed by a demon actually crossed his mind, but in an entirely different way from how the sergeant intended. 

Oikawa didn’t know how much he’d seen, but it was bad. The last thing he wanted was for a human to get involved in all these apocalyptic shenanigans. He needed him out of the shop as soon as possible so that he could find a way to reach Kuroo. 

“Ok, but please, stay away from the circle in the ground, it’s still powered up!” Oikawa warned him. The circle was a gate to heaven and even he was allowed to use it only for talking and not for travelling, as that would result in his body being discorporated and his soul kept captive in heaven for months, until a new body was available for him. For a human to step on it would result in certain death and definitely not a fastpass to heaven. 

“Bell,” the man said, ringing the little bell he had on one of his desks, not listening to a word Oikawa was saying. 

“Sergeant, I can assure you I honestly am not a demon!” Oikawa tried again, stepping between the man and the circle. “I don’t know what you think you saw, but -”

“Book,” Sawamura continued, picking up the first book he saw. Oikawa widened his eyes as he recognized Agnes Nutter’s book. 

“Please, please, you must keep away from the circle!” Oikawa said, desperately, as the man continued to advance towards the centre of the room. 

“Practically a candle,” Sawamura said, taking out a lighter from his pocket. 

“Listen, the circle is on and it would be very unwise for you to step into it without the proper precautions,” Oikawa insisted, firmly standing on the edge of the circle. 

Savamura started mumbling some incoherent nonsense, probably some prayers, stepping right in front of him. 

“Whatever you think you’ve seen, don’t step on the circle, you stupid human!” Oikawa yelled, but it was too late. 

“Evil returning no more!” Sawamura said, taking another step forward and pointing one finger into Oikawa’s chest, pushing him back. 

To protect him from falling inside the circle, Oikawa pushed Sawamura away, inevitably taking a step back. 

Light erupted from the circle once again, engulfing him completely. 

“Oh, fuck!” Oikawa exclaimed, closing his eyes as he felt himself dissolving in the warm light. 

=

Kuroo knew he only had a very small amount of time to prepare before hell would come to collect him and quite surely dispose of him entirely. And, despite it being apocalypse day, that surely wasn’t how he intended to go. He didn’t intend to die in the first place. 

He walked to his safe and took out his greatest treasure: the thermos of holy water Oikawa gave him so many years ago. He was wearing thick rubber gloves and a rubber apron to protect himself as he poured it all into a bucket and placed it above the door of his living room. 

In that moment, the bell of his apartment buzzed and he heard Hastur’s voice calling for him.

Kuroo disposed of everything and sat on his throne, trying to relax. He glanced at the bucket, smiling a bit. 

_ “See, it was for self defence, dumb angel,” _ he thought. 

He heard the sound of the door crashing open and felt the presence of not one but two demons. Hastur quite surely got there with his frog friend. 

“Kuroo~,” Hastur sang, “We only want a little word with you! We know you’re in there…”

“In here, people,” Kuroo called them, a little smirk on his face. 

The door cracked open but the sound was quickly replaced by screams of excruciating pain. It was the frog demon indeed, Kuroo saw as he turned around to enjoy the show. His body melted into a puddle of bright light, leaving nothing behind but his clothes, a lot of smoke and a shrieking Hastur. 

One down, one to go. 

“Hi,” Kuroo greeted him.

“That’s… That’s… That’s holy water!” Hastur said, never stopping shrieking for a second. “I can’t believe even a demon would… would… would… Holy water! He hadn't done anything to you!”

“Yet,” Kuroo said calmly as he took out his little plant spray. 

Hastur widened his eyes. “You don’t frighten me.”

“Do you know what this is?” Kuroo hissed, standing up and getting close to him. “This is a plant mister, the cheapest and most efficient on the market today. It can squirt a fine spray of water into the air and it’s filled with holy water. It can turn you into  _ that _ .”

Hastur looked briefly at the pile of still smoking clothes before facing Kuroo again, more demonic than ever. “You’re bluffing.”

“Maybe I am, maybe I’m not,” Kuroo shrugged. “Do you feel lucky?”

He was. Of course he was. There was no way on earth he would handle a spay filled with holy water bare handed, but he was praying for Hastur not to pick up on that. 

“Yes,” Hastur smirked. “Do you?” 

He snapped his fingers and the spay exploded in his hand, of course not causing any harm. 

“It’s time to go, Kuroo,” Hastur said.

The phone suddenly started to ring. His answer machine spoke and, after that came Oikawa’s voice. For all the times Kuroo hoped for it to happen, this was surely the worst timed one. 

“Don’t move!” Kuroo told Hastur. “There’s something really important you have to know before you disgrace yourself!”

_ “Listen, I know where the antichrist is -” _ Oikawa started. 

“Yeah, cool, it’s not a good time though, got an old friend here,” Kuroo cut him off, ending the call.

Why did angels always had such terrible timing? For fucks sake. 

“Well, you definitely passed the test, you’re ready to start playing with the big boys!” Kuroo said cheerfully to Hastur. 

“What?” Hastur looked at him with a mix of confusion and spite. “You’re mad.”

“The lords of hell had to make sure you were trustworthy before we gave you command of the legions of the damned in the war ahead,” Kuroo explained the lie he just came up with. “And, Hastur, duke of hell, you’ve come through with flying colours!”

“Me?” he asked, looking like he was starting to believe it. 

“Now, I wouldn’t expect you to believe me, Duke Hastur, but why don’t we talk to the dark council?” Kuroo suggested, taking out his phone and starting a call. “Let’s see if they can convince you.”

“You’re calling the dark council?” Hastur asked, suddenly nervous. 

“Yes, I am,” Kuroo smiled, the phone now to his ear. “And they say: so long, sucker!”

Kuroo hissed in Hastur face, before dematerializing into the telephone system. For once, he was so glad to be a demon and therefore not bound to the laws of physics. He truly didn’t need a size, a shape, or even a body to begin with so dematerializing, or better, making himself so small he could use the telephone system as a highway, was just one of the things he could do. It wasn’t the easiest plan and had a lot of collateral risks, but it was his only option at the moment. And actually, he was having a hell of a good time travelling at such a fast speed.

As expected, he heard Hastur following him soon after. 

Perfect. 

“Kuroo, you can’t escape me!” he yelled. “Wherever you come out, I come out too!”

“That’s the plan,” Kuroo said to himself, hoping he was timing everything right. “Three… two… one…”

Kuroo jumped out of the system, finding himself exactly where he planned to: back in the living room of his apartment. The number he called was the number of his own house, so that he could take advantage of that small moment in which the line connected before being passed to the answer machine. He looked at it, waiting eagerly until he heard his voice, followed by Hastur’s. 

“Where are you, you little runt?” the duke of hell said. “I heard your voice, you and your best friend Oikawa are dead meat.” 

Kuroo smiled. For once, his plan worked perfectly. Hastur didn’t come out, he was trapped inside the tape of the answering machine. 

“Where am I, don’t leave me here,” Hastur whined. “You snake!”

Kuroo laughed at him one last time before turning off the machine and leaving the apartment at the speed of light. 

=

Kuroo kept calling and calling and calling him but Oikawa never picked up the phone. 

He sped up his driving even more, not knowing if he had to be mad at him or worried. Probably Oikawa just left the shop for who knows where but that, despite the stupid angel not having a cellphone, wasn’t a problem, Kuroo could track down his scent anywhere on earth. That’s how he always found him no matter what, after all. And his scent was still in the bookshop.

Kuroo decided he should be worried when he saw a high column of smoke in the sky just down the road, where Oikawa’s shop was supposed to be. 

The Bentley shot down the street and screeched just before hitting the wall. When Kuroo looked up, he froze: Oikawa’s whole bookshop was ablaze. 

He got out of the car but was intercepted by a fireman. 

“Are you the owner of this establishment?” he asked.

“Do I look like someone who runs a fucking bookshop?” Kuroo yelled, running inside. 

Inside was what humans would describe as hell: a whirlwind of flames, ashes and dark smoke. 

“Tooru!” Kuroo called him. “Tooru where the heaven are you, you idiot!”

No answer came. The only sound was coming from a gramophone which was somehow still working, the rustling of paper, so much paper, the hissing of the fire and the cracking of wood.

Because of course the dumbass had to store the most inflammable item in the most inflammable building. 

He wasn’t afraid of the burns, a fire like that couldn’t kill him. Losing Oikawa would. 

“Tooru, I can’t find you!” Kuroo cried out. “Tooru, for god’s… satan’s… for somebody's sake, where are you?!”

Kuroo was running around, looking desperately for a sign, a feather, anything that could indicate where the angel was, but he was nowhere to be found. There was no trace of him and his smell was dimming each passing second, as if he was slowly disappearing.

Until he couldn’t sense him at all. 

The glass shattered and from the window a powerful jet of water knocked him down to the floor, making his sunglasses fly off and end up as a melted blob in the fire. The red was reflecting in the gold of Kuroo’s eyes, now full of tears. His face was blackened in a mess of ashes and dirt and he was wet from head to foot. He got up, groaning, but fell to his knees right after. 

“Somebody killed my…” he yelled, panting. “My… my best friend… my… my love...”

Despair wound around his heart like the grip of barbed wire. It squeezed hard, so hard it cut his breath away. Kuroo fell on all fours, coughing up blood, tears streaming down his face hysterically. 

“Bastards! All of you!” he screamed. 

Kuroo felt darkness sneaking inside him, and rage and bloodlust and all the violence that was possible. There was more fire within him than was all around him.

He looked down and he saw it, the book Oikawa was so excited about. The one the young lady left in his car that night she hit him with her bicycle. It was scorched just a little bit around the corners of the cover but, other than that, it was unharmed. Miraculously so. 

He took it, because it was the last thing he had of Oikawa and because there was something bigger than him telling him to do so. 

Kuroo wiped his mouth and stood up as best as he could. He walked out of the shop, the ceiling collapsing right after him in a great explosion. 

=

“You!” a voice called him from behind. “You’re late!”

“Yes,” Oikawa unconsciously replied. “Well, no, actually I’m not. I didn’t mean to be here in the first place. I still need to sort things out on earth.” 

He appeared in a side of heaven he had never seen. There was a giant globe floating in the middle of the immense room and an angel in full uniform behind a desk. Behind him other angels were perfectly lined up, silent, still and staring at the emptiness in front of them. They were all in war attire as well. 

“Oikawa Tooru, isn’t it? Principality? Angel of the eastern gate?” the angel asked, ignoring his complaints. He handed him a pile of clothes and a helmet. “Your whole platoon is waiting for you!”

He grunted, his whole body hurting.

“Oikawa Tooru… why is the name so familiar?” the angel mumbled. “Hang on! You were issued a-”

“A flaming sword, I know,” Oikawa scoffed. Will heaven ever let that thing go? 

“You were issued with a body!” the angel thundered. “Where is it!”

Oikawa widened his eyes. He looked at his hands and could see the brightness of the room reflecting through them. 

Oh no. 

Oh fuck. 

“I… I hadn't actually prepared to step into the transportation portal and the body… discorporated,” Oikawa said.

“Discorporated?” the angel repeated, as if the information personally offended him. 

“It was 6000 yeas old, after all,” Oikawa smiled.

“So you turn up, late for armageddon, no flaming sword, not even a body, you pathetic excuse for an angel!” the angel yelled in his face. 

“You know what,” Oikawa said, slamming the clothes on the desk. “I suppose I am and I’veI had enough of you, all of you. I have no intention of fighting in any war!”

“And what do you intend to do then?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“I will go back to earth right now!” 

“Without a body?” the angel laughed. “Don’t be ridiculous. What are you going to do, you can’t possess them.”

“Well, demons can,” Oikawa considered. 

“You’re an angel, not a demon, even if you pretend to have forgotten.” 

“Oh, I sure as heaven had not,” Oikawa said, walking towards the big globe. “How does one navigate?”

“You get away from that thing right now!”

“Well, I guess I’ll figure out as I go,” Oikawa smirked. 

He then placed a finger over where Tokyo was and the globe sucked him in immediately. 

=

They killed him. They killed his reason for living. His angel. The love of his eternal life. 

They could have taken away everything, even his life, but not him. Not him. 

There was no heaven nor hell for him now, no end of the world. There was nothing left on this planet worth living for and nothing waiting for him after it. 

But first, oh, he was going to kill them all first. Angels, demons, god or satan, he didn’t care. He would make a mess of things and die a thousand deaths before going away for good. 

Kuroo held his knees close to his chest, dropping his forehead against them. His big dark wings were wrapped around him, shielding him from the pouring rain. He wasn’t afraid of people seeing them. They were all too busy with the storm and he was on the roof of one of the highest buildings in Tokyo anyway. 

Kuroo sighed. He would do everything his heart was telling him to do, he really would, he just needed a moment for himself now that he was at rock bottom, for the pain to dissolve into rage and fuel his vengeance. 

A moment alone in the cold and darkness.

Until there was light and warmth instead. 

_ “Don’t do it, Tetsu.” _

Kuroo felt the warmth spreading on his face and a voice he thought he would never hear again.

“Tooru?” Kuroo gasped, taking his new sunglasses off and squinting at the sight. “Are you here?”

“That’s a good question, I’m not really sure myself, can you hear me?” Oikawa asked. 

He was there but at the same time he wasn’t. It was a big ball of light with his smell, his voice and his body translucent inside it. The moment he tried to touch him, his hand grabbed a bunch of his own feathers instead. 

“Of course I can hear you!” Kuroo said, his voice already choked a bit. 

“I’m afraid I’ve rather made a mess of things,” Oikawa smiled, guiltily. “Forgive me, Tetsu.”

“What, no, wait… what…” Kuroo fumbled over the words, not really knowing what to say.

Oikawa laughed. “Were you going to Alpha Centauri?”

“Nah, I changed my mind...” Kuroo shrugged. He wished he could shrug the tears from his eyes as well, but it was already too late. “Stuff happened… I… I lost my best friend…”

Oikawa frowned for a moment, then his lips started to tremble. 

“I’m sorry to hear it,” he said in a thin smile. His eyes were so sweet, the sweetest eyes Kuroo had ever seen. “Listen, back at my bookshop there’s a book I need you to get for me.”

“Oh…” Kuroo started, his heart suddenly even heavier. “Yes, look… your bookshop… isn’t there anymore.”

It was like something broke inside Oikawa’s eyes. “What?” 

“It… burned down,” Kuroo managed to say. “I’m so sorry Tooru…”

“A-all of it?” Oikawa asked, his voice suddenly so thin. 

“I’m, well, ac-, yeah…” Kuroo stammered. “What was the book?”

“The book the young lady with the bicycle left, The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of -”

“Agnes Nutter!!” Kuroo said triumphant, taking the book out of his jacket. “Yes! I took it!!”

“Oh, you have it?” Oikawa asked, smiling again.

“Look, look, souvenir!” Kuroo said, excitedly pointing at the cover of the book. 

“Open it Tetsu, I made notes, it’s all in there: the boy’s name, address, not the shoe size, I’m afraid,” Oikawa giggled. “I worked it all out.” 

Kuroo did and it truly was all inside it. Tons and tons of notes, a map and everything he needed to know to find the boy. Kuroo was crying again and reached out his arms again, ending up hugging himself, but he didn’t care. 

“Where are you,” he sobbed. “Wherever you are I’ll come to get you.” 

“I’m not really anywhere yet, I’ve been discorporated,” Oikawa informed him.

“Bastards!” Kuroo growled.

“No, no, it’s my fault, I discorporated myself by accident,” Oikawa sighed.

“You dumbass angel,” Kuroo scoffed, shaking his head.

Oikawa looked at him intently in the eyes for the longest time before breaking into a warm smile. “I suppose I really am.” 

“What… what are we going to do then?” Kuroo asked.

“You need to get to Yokota Air Base, that’s where it’s all going to happen, quite soon now,” Oikawa replied. “I’ll head there as well, I just need to find a receptive body… too bad I can’t inhabit yours,” he giggled. 

“Do it, take me, take my body!” Kuroo urged him.

“I can’t, even if I wanted to, I can’t!” Oikawa said. “You’re a demon, I’m an angel, it would probably explode. So I’ll meet you there, we both gonna have to get a bit of a wiggle-on though.” 

“What?”

“Yokota Air base, Tetsu, I’ll see you there!”

“I heard that, it was the  _ wiggle-on _ ,” Kuroo said but, before he could finish the sentence, Oikawa was already gone. He just left his smell and his warmth behind, trapped inside the cocoon of Kuroo’s wings. 

Kuroo wiped his tears away, his chest erupting into a loud laugh of relief. 

_ Too bad I can’t inhabit yours.  _

Was he for real? Was he fucking kidding him, even in such desperate times?

Kuroo couldn’t stop laughing. Even without a body, his angel was still the densest creature he had ever met and, for that and for everything else, he loved him more than words could ever say. 

=

Oikawa imagined his  _ receptive body _ would have been some sort of priest, a humanitarian volunteer, a doctor… anyone who could be described as holy. And, in fact, his new body had been, on several occasions. Mostly by his customers. Highly satisfied customers. 

It was a call boy. A call boy with a passion for the occult. Oikawa couldn’t help but appreciate the irony and accuracy of it all. 

He looked at him for a bit before possessing him, floating in mid air, invisible to his eyes. 

The boy was barely in his twenties, skin as fair as porcelain and enough muscles to be strong but soft enough to not be intimidating. He had shiny silver hair and deep brown eyes. A mole under his left eye, to make everything even more sinful. He had the sort of beauty most humans would describe as angelic. 

He was laying on his pink bed, dressed in a matching pink babydoll with nothing underneath, rumpled silk sheets all around him. Some stuffed animals were discarded on the floor while others were still lined up close to the headboard. Neon light was coming from behind it, washing all the room in bright magenta tones. The boy was absently playing with a short and sparkly whip, spinning it around between his fingers. 

When the boy raised his eyes to look up at himself in the mirrored ceiling, he screeched. 

“Hello, young man,” Oikawa smiled, materializing in the reflection. “What’s your name?”

“I’m… Sugawara Koushi,” he said, slowly. “W-who are you?”

“I’m Oikawa Tooru, a principality or, as you humans call us, an angel,” he explained. “I don’t have much time, actually, none of us has, so I’m here to ask you if I can inhabit your body for the time being and help me stop the impending apocalypse.”

“You… what?”

“I know it’s difficult to understand but I need you to do sort of a… leap of faith?” Oikawa said. 

“You’ll possess me anyway even if I refuse, won’t you?” he asked, covering himself with the sheets.

“Yes,” Oikawa admitted. “But I would rather have you cooperate with me, I don’t want to force things on you.”

“You sort of are,  _ angel _ ,” Sugawara said. 

“So?” Oikawa asked, placing one hand on the glass. “What’s your answer?”

Sugawara looked into his eyes for a long moment, batting his long eyelashes in contemplation. 

“If I help you would you… would you become my guardian angel?” he asked, eyes wide and with a glimmer of hope.

It was that kind of light in their eyes that made Oikawa fall in love with Earth. They were so strong and yet always searched for something outside of themselves to protect them. They were so painfully aware of their fragility even a mere reflection in a mirror was enough to help them.

Oikawa didn’t have the heart to tell him there was no such thing as a guardian angel. The idea that each human had one ethereal being assigned to them at birth who would always stand by their side and protect them was a human made delusion. 

“If we both come back safely, I promise I will check on you regularly and, if you’re in serious trouble, you just have to call me and I will come to rescue you,” Oikawa said instead. 

Sugawara nodded, standing up and reaching to the ceiling with his hand, placing it on Oikawa’s without hesitation. 

One blink and Oikawa was inside him. It wasn’t like his presence overlapped him, they were both there and they could hear each other’s thoughts but, while one was taking action, the other was just quietly watching it all happen. 

Oikawa looked at himself in the mirror. 

“I think it would be appropriate for me to change clothes now,” Oikawa said, suddenly embarrassed.

“I think your boyfriend would appreciate this outfit,” Sugawara said, mischievously. 

“Shut up, young man,” Oikawa scolded him. “He’s not my boyfriend.”

Sugawara rolled his eyes. “But you love him, I can feel it.”

“That is none of your concern,” Oikawa sighed.

“You could have told me sooner this was about saving the man you love, I would have agreed straight away! Let’s go!” Sugawara said, opening the door.

“The clothes, Koushi-kun, change the clothes first!” Oikawa shrieked, closing the door. “And he’s not a man, he’s a demon.”

“Even better!” Sugawara beamed.

“And it’s not just about him, it’s about saving the Earth,” Oikawa said. “I… I really love this planet, it’s been my home for the past 6000 years and I won’t give up on it!”

“I know, I know,” Sugawara smiled. “I can’t wait to meet him, though. He seems like my type of guy.”

“Sugawara-kun, I swear to god, if you try anything funny with him-”

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding, no need to get so intense on me, I promised I’d help and I will,” Sugawara laughed. “Now, what should one wear to attend the armageddon?”

= 

Kuroo was stuck in a traffic jam as he was trying to leave the centre of Tokyo to get to Yokota Air Base and find the missing antichrist. The radio proudly proclaimed it “the biggest traffic jam in Japan’s history”. 

Great. Just what he needed. 

He cursed himself because the chaos was caused by no one other than himself, when in a stroke of demonic genius he compromised the chain of road works put in place for the imminent Tokyo Olympics to create a freeway that circled the entire city. Kuroo changed its original shape to represent the dread sigil Odegra which meant “hail the great beast, devourer of words.” Now that it was open, it was using the millions of motorists who circled their way around it as water on a demonic prayer wheel, slowly grinding out an endless fog of evil that would encircle the entire city. 

Despite his plan meeting a very cold reaction from his demonic peers, now it was bearing its fruits in the form of an impassable burning wall of infernal fire which was engulfing the whole city, not letting anyone in or out of it. 

Kuroo made it, now Kuroo was trapped inside it.

He grunted, opening Agnes Nutter’s book, searching for something, a prediction on the fire ring and a way to cross it but couldn’t find anything. The predictions were too many and there wasn’t even an index to understand how someone could even approach the search. 

As he was immersed in reading, he felt a demonic presence beside him and his sunglasses being slid off. Kuroo reacted fast, his hand moving before his brain could register his actions. He took the hand into his, twisting and crushing it until he felt every bone inside being pulverized with an awful sound. He then took his sunglasses and put them back on.

“Don’t you dare touch me ever again,” Kuroo said, low and deadly.

Hastur was too busy screaming in pain to be able to reply. 

“You… you… will never escape Tokyo!” he finally managed. 

“Hastur, how was your time in voicemail?” Kuroo smirked.

“Joke all you like, Kuroo, there’s nowhere to run,” Hastur said. “You will never cross that.”

“Well, let’s find out,” Kuroo grinned, moving to the emergency lane and going full speed towards the wall of fire. 

“What… why… why are you driving Kuroo, stop this thing!” Hastur demanded. “Stop it, it’s over, you’re done for Kuroo! We will win this war and hell will not forget what you’ve done, hell will not forgive. And even if we don’t, the outcome will be the same for you. We will come for you, we will find you and for as long as there’s one single demon left in hell, Kuroo, you will wish you were created mortal!”

“Yeah, whatever,” Kuroo shrugged, hitting the wall of fire.

“Stop it! You’ll discorporate us both!” Hastur cried. “This is not funny!”

“Come on!” Kuroo laughed. “If you’ve got to go, then go with style!”

“I hate you!” were Hastur’s last words before he vanished in a burst of fire.

Kuroo laughed even harder. Two down, all the rest of hell to go. 

“You’re my car, I’ve had you from new, you’re not going to burn!” Kuroo ordered his Bentley. “Don’t even think of it!”

He felt the excessive heat on his skin but pretended everything was going just fine and that the ton of burning metal and leather was a perfectly functioning car. And that was his advantage on all the rest of his species: he had an imagination and that imagination was going to save him, no matter what.

=

“So, what exactly do you propose we do about this?” Sugawara asked.

“Given the circumstances, we both have to be extremely flexible and -”

“Get your hands off him, you-” a man yelled, slamming the door of the room open, making Oikawa startle. 

It was Sawamura Daichi. Sergeant Sawamura Daichi. The man who accidentally discorporated him. What the hell was he doing there?

“Where is he?” Sawamura asked, still staring at him in confusion. 

“Who, dear?” Sugawara asked, smiling seductively. 

Oikawa felt Sugawara’s heart rate accelerating as he looked at him. Interesting. 

“Some southern pansy,” Sawamura said, looking around the room searching for Oikawa not realizing it was the same body speaking with two voices. “I heard him, making lewd suggestions.”

“It wasn’t some random southern pansy, Sergeant,” Oikawa smirked. “It was the southern pansy.”

“You demon!” Sawamura gasped. 

“He’s not a demon, he’s an angel!” Sugawara defended him.

“You get out of this boy’s head before I blast you to kingdom come!” Sawamura roared.

“That’s exactly the trouble, Daichi-san, kingdom come,” Sugawara sighed. “It’s going to!”

“Oh my god Suga, what did he do to you?” Sawamura asked, concerned.

“Nothing!” Sugawara said firmly. “He did nothing, I decided to help him myself and now you should sit down and listen to him as well.” 

Sawamura wasn’t looking very convinced but Sugawara’s begging eyes did their trick and made the man at least willing to listen to what Oikawa had to say.

And so he did. He told him about the antchrist, about armageddon, about the war between heaven and hell, about how Sawamura didn’t really exorcise him but ended up having him discorporated anyway. About Kuroo who was waiting for him to come and help him. About the murder he had to commit. 

“The antichrist must be killed, sergeant Sawamura,” Oikawa said. “And you are the man to do it.”

Sawamura swallowed hard. “Well, I don’t know about that.” 

“Daichi-san, I know you can do it,” Sugawara said sweetly, placing a hand over his. “I know you can save the world.”

There was a hint of true demonic charm in every move Sugawara made, in every skillful rise and fall of his voice. His mellow eyes. His apparently innocent smile. That was a boy who was more than used to having men wrapped around his finger but still Oikawa didn’t feel any harmful intention coming from him. He was more sincere than his perfectly rehearsed actions were exuding. He was a boy who could have started a war if he wanted to, Oikawa was glad he decided to help him end it instead. 

“How can you be so sure?” Sawamura asked. 

“Because I have the power of god and anime on my side,” Sugawara said proudly, pointing at the little Totoro embroidered on his powder pink hoodie and at Oikawa inside him. 

“We’re doomed, then,” Sawamura sighed. 

“I suggest you be more optimistic, Sergeant,” Oikawa said. “So, which weapons do we have?”

“Well, I can exorcise the forces of evil, I just need a thumb,” Sawamura said, pointing his finger at Oikawa. 

“You can’t exorcise shit, Daichi-san, Oikawa-san already told you, it was just a coincidence,” Sugawara said, very sweetly despite his words. 

Sawamura furrowed his brows. “Was it really?” 

“Yes,” Oikawa let on in an exasperated sigh. “So? Do we have anything more substantial than a finger?”

“I have the thundergun of Witchfinder Colonel Dalrymple, it’ll fire anything, silver bullets…” 

“That’s for werewolves,” Sugawara said.

“Garlic.”

“That’s for vampires,” Oikawa said. 

“Bricks?”

“That should do nicely!” Oikawa nodded. “Now let’s take the gun and go to the end of the world!”

=

Not only did his Bentley take him across the wall of fire, it took him right in front of the gate of the Yokota Air Base. For as much as technology progressed, no one could expect that sort of performance from a modern car. 

Kuroo parked and got out of it, still pretending it wasn’t reduced to a flaming ball of rubber and metal by then. 

Outside the gate he found three people. One was a military, the other was Sawamura Daichi, leader of his human agents and the other one was… Oikawa? It was him, he could distinctly feel his smell, but it was coming from a boy with ripped jeans and a pink silk bomber jacket with a pair of angel wings on the back. 

“Tetsu!” the boy said with Oikawa’s voice and his exact same smile.

“Hey Tooru, I see you found a ride,” Kuroo winked. “Nice outfits, it suits you.”

“You should have seen the other one, dear,” the boy said in his own voice, winking in return. 

Kuroo stopped in his tracks. “What?”

“Thank you, Tetsu, but it’s nothing, really,” Oikawa said. “The problem is that this young man won’t let us in.”

“Leave it to me,” Kuroo nodded, stepping in front of him. “Army human, my friend and I have come a long way and-”

Kuroo was interrupted by the sound of the gates opening as four children sped in on their bicycles. They were there and gone in the blink of an eye but Kuroo saw it. The one in the middle, he had wild ginger curls. It was him. It was the antichrist they have been searching for all along. 

“Ok, those kids are in big trouble and so are you, don’t move!” the military guy yelled as he got back to his post. 

And then there was an explosion, hot and deafening, coming from right  from  behind them. Kuroo turned around and he saw it, his beloved car, barely visible in the thick column of smoke, now officially burned to ashes. 

Kuroo couldn’t believe it. He walked towards it, taking his sunglasses off and falling to his knees right where the little metal wings fell in the explosion. He took it in his hands, the last memory he had of his beloved Bentley.

“Ninety years and not a scratch…” he whispered, eyes lost in the fire. “Now look at you…”

“Tetsu!” Oikawa said, running towards here. “Tetsu, this man has a gun we can’t afford to lose another b-”

“I’m having a moment here!” Kuroo growled. 

“Tetsu, I’m the nice one, you can’t expect me to do the dirty work!” Oikawa begged him. 

“Boys, I’m going to give you all five seconds to vacate the area,” he heard the military man said.

Oikawa looked at him one last desperate time before running back. 

“Rest in peace,” Kuroo said, kissing the little wings. “You were a good car.” 

He turned, wiping his unshed tears and sniffing a bit, and saw Oikawa and Sawamura alone, waiting for him.

“Where did the gun guy go?” he asked.

“I sent him away… I hope not to somewhere unpleasant though,” Oikawa said. 

“Ok, yeah, I need to get over this car thing. I’ll deal with them,” Kuroo said, spotting three jeeps full of other soldiers coming their way. 

“Let’s go,” Oikawa said. “We’re about to lick some serious butt!”

“Kick, Tooru, it’s kick butt, for heaven’s sake,” Kuroo scoffed with a grimace. “Ew, I can’t believe I said that.”

Kuroo shook his head and ran full speed towards them, letting all his demonic powers takeover. 

He was done in the blink of an eye, before any of them had the time to fire one single bullet. It was something that could only be described as a slaughter. Bodies were scattered all around in puddles of blood, the only sound they emitted were agonising screams.

Oikawa walked among them, healing their wounds but leaving them unconscious. 

“You could have killed them,” Oikawa said, barely a whisper. 

“I know,” Kuroo replied dryly. “Let’s go, we don’t have time.”

The three of them jumped onto one of the jeeps and Kuroo drove them fast to the place where everything was happening. The four kids with the bicycles were standing in front of four other figures. War, Famine, Pollution and Death, the four horsemen of the apocalypse were just waiting for their master to say the world and start the complete destruction. 

“That’s him!” Kuroo said. “The ginger one. Shoot him. Save the world!”

“What?” Sawamura gasped. “He’s just a kid, you can’t-”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” Oikawa snorted, tearing the massive gun away from his hands and pointing it at the child.

“You can’t shoot children!” the boy of Oikawa’s body screeched. 

“Perhaps we should wait,” Oikawa said, turning to look at Kuroo with eyes full of concern.

“Wait for what? ‘Till he grows up?” Kuroo yelled. “Shoot him Tooru! Now!”

Oikawa grunted and, even from outside, it was clear how strong the tug of war inside that boy was. They fought until one of them won and the gun fired one single bullet, more similar to a firework, up in the sky. The gun then fell from the boy’s hand and then he collapsed to the ground as well. 

“I’m sorry Oikawa-san,” he cried. “I’m so sorry but I couldn’t let you do it.” 

“Excuse me, why are you two people?” the antichrist asked, giving them a puzzled look. “It’s not right, you should go back to being two separate people again.” 

The kid smiled and a blinding flash of light cut the boy who was hosting Oikawa in half. When Kuroo could see again, Oikawa was there, in his own body again, his arms and his white wings wrapped around the boy. Seeing him there again, alive and all in one piece as he was supposed to be, lifted a heavy weight from Kuroo’s heart. 

“I’m sorry Oikawa-san, I’m sorry,” the boy kept crying, holding Oikawa’s coat tight. 

“It’s fine, you did amazing,” Oikawa smiled, placing a delicate kiss on top of the boy’s head. “I would have never got here if it wasn’t for you. So thank you, Sagawara Koushi.” 

“I will take him for now,” Sawamura said, helping the boy to stand up and keeping him close. 

“Thank you, Sergeant,” Oikawa said. “And thank you for giving my body back, Hinata Shouyou.” 

The ginger boy just smiled at him. He was so small, so unbearably cute to be bearing all that destruction in him.

“Now, how do we deal with this?” Oikawa asked. 

“Well, that’s a good question,” Kuroo sighed. 

“The fact is, they’re not actually real,” Hinata said. “They’re just like nightmares, really.”

War took a step forward. She had the form of a woman with long, braided blonde hair and tears of blood running down her dark eyes. She had a flaming sword in her hand and was pointing it to the throat of one of the other kids. 

“I am War and you were made to serve me, to live in me and die in me,” she said. 

“My mum says that war is just masculine imperialism executed on a global stage,” one of the children, a tall one with glasses and short blonde hair, said, leaving Kuroo, and everyone else really, speechless.

“Oh, a little mummy’s boy you are, why don’t you go back to your mummy and play dolls with her and your girly friends then?” War mocked him. 

“I do not endorse everyday sexism,” the boy said, kicking War in the legs and making her sword fall to the ground. He took it and pointed to War’s gut. “We’re Shouyou’s real friends, not you, you’re a joke.” 

“Just say what you believe, Tsukki,” Hinata said. 

“I believe in peace, bitch,” the child said, sinking the blade into War’s gut without hesitation. 

War screamed and the fire of the blade enveloped her completely until there was nothing left of her. Shaken, the child, Tsukki, dropped the sword but another one took it right after him.

“I believe in a clean world!” he said like a battle cry, attacking Pollution straight on. This time the flames didn’t burn her but turned her into a puddle of tar instead. 

“And I believe in a healthy lunch and in the power of milk!” the last one of Hinata’s three friends said, taking the sword and stabbing Famine, who disappeared in a cloud of black smoke. 

“Didn’t that use to be your sword?” Kuroo asked, leaning close to Oikawa.

“I… I do believe it was,” Oikawa said, nervously. 

“Death, it all has to stop now,” Hinata ordered. 

“It has stopped, but they will be back. We’re never far away” Death said. “I am creation’s shadow, you cannot destroy me, that would destroy the world.”

Death opened his wings, bigger and darker than any night, any shadow, any fear. There were distant lights glimmering in them, but if those were stars or something else entirely, Kuroo couldn’t tell. 

“Can you believe?” Oikawa said, his voice unsure. 

“Even children are more competent than we are, yes,” Kuroo said, frowning. 

“Well, you see?” Oikawa smiled, giving Kuroo a small nudge. “It’s like I’ve always said!”

“Oh, it’s isn’t over,” Kuroo said, seriously. “Nothing’s over. Both heaven and hell still want their war. The fact that a bunch of kids saved the world won’t make any difference!”

“You!” a voice called him from behind. “You’re the man in the car, you stole my book!”

“Oh, it’s the book girl! Catch it!” Kuroo greeted her, throwing the book at her. 

“What is going on out here?” she asked. There was a small blonde girl hiding behind her. 

“Long story, no time,” Kuroo tried to cut her off.

“Well, try me,” she said.

“Oh, ok, well… it all started in the garden of Eden, in the very beginning, I was on apple tree duty and he was-” Oikawa started but Kuroo shushed him before he could make even more of a fool of himself. 

“Hello Shouyou, Kei, Tadashi, Tobio, you defeated the bad guys, didn’t you?” the girl said softly, turning to the kids.

“Hello Kyouko-san,” Hinata smiled. “You just stopped them from blowing up the world, didn’t you?”

“I guess,” she shrugged. “It was my girlfriend here who did the tricky bit though.”

“G-girlfriend?” the girl behind her squealed, turning red and holding Kyouko’s hand even harder. 

As Kuroo predicted, their peace was just a delusion. A thunderbolt hit the field and, with it, flames sprouted from the concrete. In the light and in the smoke two people appeared and they were looking anything but happy as they approached their little group of weirdos. 

“Lord Belzebub, what an honor,” Kuroo smirked in an overly obsequious bow. 

“Kuroo Tetsurou, the traitor,” she said, giving him a hard, cold stare. 

“Well, that’s not a nice word,” Kuroo complained.

“All the other words I have for you are far worse, believe me,” she said. “Where is the boy?”

“He’s that one,” the other one, an angel, said. “Hinata Shouyou.”

“Gabriel no, please! He’s just a child!” Oikawa begged him, grabbing his arm to stop him.

Gabriel escaped his hold with a sharp jerk, pushing Oikawa away. “You stay where you are, you pathetic angel, don’t you think you already did enough damage?”

Kuroo felt all the flames of hell rampaging inside him at the sight. That was a dead angel if he ever saw one. 

“Young man, listen, armageddon must… restart, right now.” Gabriel said to Hinata with his shit-eating grin. “A temporary inconvenience cannot get in the way of the greater good. This is your destiny, it’s already written, now start the war!”

“You want to start a war and end the world just to see whose gang is the best?” Hinata asked, confused. 

“Shouyou, listen to me,” lord Belzebub said, squatting down so she could talk to him at eye level. “When all of this is over, you’re going to get to rule the world! Isn’t it exciting?”

“Ehm… it’s hard enough to make my friends listen to me, really,” Hinata laughed. “But still, I already have all the world I want.” 

“You can’t refuse to be who you are! You’re part of the great plan!” Gabriel bawled out. 

“Speaking of,” Oikawa interrupted them, walking right beside Hinata. “I was wondering, you keep talking about the great plan, but is it the same as the ineffable plan?”

“It’s the great plan! It’s written!” lord Belzebub shouted. “There shall be a world and it shall last for 6000 years and end it in fire and flames!”

“Yes, that’s exactly the great plan,” Oikawa nodded. “But, again, is it the ineffable plan as well?”

Gabriel and Lord Belzebub exchanged a confused look. “They’re the same thing!”

Genius. Oikawa was a fucking genius. 

They didn’t know. Their superiors didn’t know the difference between the great plan and the ineffable plan and truly believed that was what was supposed to happen and never for a second doubted that god might have planned that botched version of the end of the world from the very beginning in the ineffable plan which, by definition and by all the times Oikawa repeated it, it was impossible for anyone to know. No one could ever know shit about it. Not even angels. 

Kuroo walked by Hinata’s side as well. “It would be a pity if you thought you were doing what the great plan said but you were actually going against god’s ineffable plan… which is… ineffable, you know?”

“God does not play games with the universe,” Gabriel warned them.

“What?” Kuroo exploded in a laugh. “Where have you been all this time?”

“I… I need to go talk to the head office right now,” Gabriel said, furious. “How am I supposed to get 10 million angels to stand down from their war footing is… it doesn’t bear thinking about.”

“You should try to get 10 million demons to put down their weapons and go back to work then,” lord Belzebub scoffed.

“At least we know whose fault it is!” Gabriel thundered.

Oikawa and Kuroo replied by flashing them both their best spite filled smiles. Kuroo knew how insufferable he and Oikawa could get when they united against a common enemy and he was thriving in seeing how much effect that was having on their superiors. 

“Young man,” Gabriel said to Hinata before leaving. “You were put on this planet for one reason and one reason only: to end it. You’re a disobedient little brat and I hope someone tells your father.”

“Oh, they will,” lord Belzebub reassured him. “And your father will not be pleased.”

They gave one last disgusted look at Oikawa and Kuroo before disappearing like burst bubbles.

The ground started to tremble and Kuroo felt the air being sucked from his lungs and all his body start to hurt, his heart crushed in a deadly vice. He couldn’t see or breathe anymore and all his strength was gradually leaving his body, making him drop down to the ground. 

“Tetsu!” Oikawa cried, catching him in his arms. “Tetsu, what’s happening? What’s this thing I’m feeling?” 

“They… they told his father…” Kuroo let out in an anguished breath. “And his satanic father is not happy.” 

The rumbles were getting more and more intense, like an earthquake under their feet, making everyone around them yelp. 

“Oikawa-san, what’s happening?” Sugawara asked, frightened. 

“Well, it looks like the devil is coming, satan himself,” Oikawa said, looking around in fear.

“This is it,” Kuroo said, reaching out a hand to touch Oikawa’s face. “It was nice knowing you. I’m glad I saw you one last time...” 

“No, Tetsu, we can’t give up now!” Oikawa said, eyes full of tears, taking Kuroo’s hand into his own. 

“This is satan himself, you stupid angel,” Kuroo said between the coughs. “This isn’t about armageddon, this is personal! We are fucked!”

“Come up with something or… or… or I will never talk to you again!” Oikawa cried. 

His tears sparkled in the red evening sky, one of them falling right into Kuroo’s eyes, mixing it with his own. In that moment Kuroo decided Oikawa’s crying face wouldn’t be the last thing he’d seen before dying. The last thing he did before leaving the world sure as hell wouldn’t be making Oikawa cry. 

Kuroo gathered all his powers and screamed with all the strength he had left. 

When he opened his eyes he was… nowhere at all, really. 

There was absolute silence. There was white sand under his hands and white clouds over a blue sky above him. A gentle wind caressing his face. And Oikawa’s sweet smell. Kuroo turned his head and saw a pair of beautiful pristine wings and a child. 

He stood up as well, flapping the sand away from his wings. 

“Shouyou, listen,” Kuroo started. “Your father is coming to destroy you, probably to destroy all of us.”

“I don’t have a dad, it’s just me and my mum,” Hinata said. 

“You have one and it’s satan, he’s coming and he’s very angry,” Kuroo explained to him. 

“And what do you want me to do about it?” Hinata asked. “Fight him?”

Kuroo exhaled sharply. “I don’t think fighting him would do any good, we have to come up with something else.” 

“But I’m… I’m just a kid,” Hinata wailed, on the verge of tears.

Oikawa kneeled before him, taking his face in his hands. “But it’s not a bad thing to be,” he said, ever so lovingly. “You know, I was scared you’d be hell incarnate, I hoped you’d be heaven incarnate… it turns out you’re neither of those things. You’re much, much better. You’re human incarnate.” 

“Reality will listen to you right now, you can change things,” Kuroo said. 

“And whatever happens, for good or for evil, we’re beside you,” Oikawa smiled, taking Hinata’s hand. 

Kuroo nodded, holding the child’s hand as well. “I’m going to restart time now, you won’t have long to do whatever you decide to do.” 

Kuroo took a deep breath and released them from the space-time bubble he trapped them inside and they found themselves back at the air base again as if nothing happened. But everything was happening in the meantime.

The ground cracked and flames burst out from it in a loud rumble. With an inhuman roar he appeared, the fallen angel, bigger than people would imagine giants to be and scarier than all possible nightmares combined. He extended his broken wings, the shock wave coming from it powerful enough to make everyone falter. 

“Where is my son?” he asked. “My rebellious son… come here.”

Hinata’s hands were shaking but he let go of Kuroo and Oikawa’s and gave them a frightened smile before going. 

“You’re not my dad,” the little antichrist said. “Dads don’t wait until you’re 11 to say hello and then turn up to tell you off.”

“What?” Satan frowned. 

“If I’m in trouble with anyone for all of this, that’s my mum! She’s always been there for me! I never even needed a dad and, wherever my real dad is, it surely isn’t you!” Hinata shouted into hell’s face. 

“What did you say?” 

“You can do it Shouyou!” Oikawa encouraged him.

“Say it again!” Kuroo yelled. “Say it!”

“You. Are. Not. My. Dad!” Hinata repeated, this time even more forcefully, not wavering despite satan’s rage.

“You come here, now!” Satan roared, banging his fists on the ground.

“You’re not my dad,” Hinata said once again. “You never were.” 

“No,” Satan gasped, his body starting to dissolve. “No, no, no, no, no!”

The smoke, the flames and crack in the ground disappeared with it and everything turned back to normal as if it had just been a bad dream. 

Hinata collapsed to the ground but with a sharp flutter of wings Oikawa sprinted forward, catching him just in time and holding him tight in his embrace. 

“You did it, Shouyou,” Oikawa whispered, kissing him on the forehead. “You saved all of us.”

“What… what exactly happened?” Sugawara asked.

“He changed reality,” Kuroo explained. “He’s no longer the antichrist. He never was. He’s perfectly human now.” 

“Kyouko-san, it looks like you know all these children,” Oikawa said, standing up, Hinata still secured in his hold. “May I ask if I can entrust you and your lovely girlfriend to return them to their families?” 

“Of course,” Kyouko smiled, extending her arms to take Hinata. 

“You’ve been amazing lads,” Kuroo said, turning to Hinata’s friends and making four lollipops appear out of nowhere. 

“Lollies? Really? We’re 11, not 5,” Tsukki pouted. 

“I will eat your lolly myself then,” Kuroo smirked, opening the candy. 

“No, no, I’ll have it,” the kid said, stealing it from his hands.

Kuroo smiled at him and ruffled his short blonde hair. “Good boy.”

He gave the rest of the candies to the boys, who were already holding hands with Kyouko’s girlfriend, and watched the six of them slowly walking away. 

Sugawara jumped at Oikawa, looping his arms around his waist and hiding his face in his chest. “Oikawa-san… is it really over?”

Oikawa patted him on the head. “It is, it’s over.”

“Don’t forget about me now, Oikawa-san,” Sugawara whined. “You promised.”

“How could I,” Oikawa said, softly. “I will be forever grateful for you help today.”

“And you!” Sugawara said, suddenly all serious, pointing his finger towards Kuroo. “Treat him right, ok? I will leave my angel in your care so don’t disappoint me.” 

“ _ Your _ angel?” Kuroo said, visibly offended by the implication. 

“Oh, my, my,” Sugawara sighed. “You were right though, he’s very hot, you scored big time buddy.”

“I am what?” Kuroo squealed. “Who said it?”

Oikawa laughed. “In whose care should I leave you, the sergeant’s, perhaps?” 

“He’s just one of my customers…” Sugawara said sheepishly. 

“Well, well, well, would you look at that,” Kuroo smirked, elbowing Sawamura in the ribs.

“And you have a crush on him, am I right?” Oikawa continued.

“... yes, I have,” Sugawara admitted.

“I will tell you a secret now, Koushi-kun,” Oikawa smiled. “I think he does as well. You will have the happiness you deserve.” 

“And what about you, Oikawa-san?” Sugawara asked, turning his head to look up at him. “Will you have the happiness you deserve?”

Oikawa looked at Kuroo for a long moment before turning to Sugawara, still smiling. 

“I think I already have it.” 

=

“And it all worked out for the best,” Oikawa said, letting out a sigh of relief and dropping against the back of the bench. Night had fallen already above them and everything was dark and quiet. 

It was a strange feeling, not having the constant urgency of stopping armageddon. So much Oikawa didn’t really know what to do with himself now. 

“The bus is coming,” Kuroo said, looking at the vehicle approaching in the distance. 

“But it says Osaka on the front,” Oikawa argued.

“Yeah, but it will drive to Tokyo anyway,” Kuroo smirked.

“I suppose I should make him drop me at the bookshop then,” Oikawa said.

Kuroo looked at him, his eyes a little concerned. “There’s… no bookshop, Tooru. It burned down, remember?”

No, he didn’t remember, he completely forgot about it. Too many things happened that day and the small detail of him not having a place to go back to slipped out of his mind. 

What will he do now?

“You can stay at my place, if you like,” Kuroo suggested, shifting closer.

Oikawa felt his face turning red. “I… I don’t think my side would like that.”

“You don’t have a side anymore, Tooru, neither of us do.” Kuroo said softly, bushing Oikawa’s face with his knuckles. “We’re on our side.”

The cracks in Oikawa's heart creaked. One thing he hadn’t forgotten was what he said, what he did to Kuroo the day before. How he pushed him away and spit on everything they had built in all those years. How he denied his love, his happiness, his everything in the name of a greater good which, just like Kuroo said, had forsaken them both. 

And yet he was still there. Still waiting for him and wanting him by his side, their side. 

Nor heaven or hell deserved Kuroo Tetsurou. He, especially, didn’t. 

Oikawa wanted to say no, it was the right thing to do. But he was tired of doing the right thing. 

“Just for one night,” he said instead. 

“Just for one night,” Kuroo whispered, tangling his fingers with the hair on Oikawa’s nape. 

Oikawa shivered under his touch, feeling Kuroo’s hot breath on his skin. He turned around and pressed his lips against his, this time with no hesitation. Kuroo turned ice-cold for an infinite second and the fire hot soon after. Oikawa’s squeezed eyes could do nothing to keep the tears inside. His heart was screaming for the primal desire that lived inside it and everything made sense again. 

Kuroo’s body loosened but his lips moved uncertain over his own, trembling yet still hungry. Oikawa’s instincts urged him to pull away before he lost himself in him but it was already too late. They were a few thousand years too late. 

Each kiss was deeper and it was a wave of warmth and light and words they kept hidden for so long. It was a fight and a relief, sweetness and bitterness, blinding happiness and dark sorrow. It was real and it was there. It was everything he ever wanted. 

As the bus stopped right in front of them, Kuroo reluctantly pulled away with shaky, shallow breaths, his lips curved into a smile. 

“Let’s go before you change your mind,” he winked, taking Oikawa’s hand and dragging him onto the bus. 


	6. The Love of My Eternal Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You’re the love of my eternal life, Tooru. You always have been and forever will be.”

It took approximately a thousand gallons of water to keep at bay the fire burning inside Kuroo. 

After the initial shock, he came to terms with the fact that he couldn’t just eat Oikawa raw on a bus with, admittedly very few, humans around them. He’d ept his demonic instinct at bay for six thousand years, he could wait a couple of hours more. 

And, most of all, he didn’t want to go too fast. Not now that he was finally so close. 

And so he did but now that they were in his apartment, in his bedroom, the atmosphere between them was somehow awkward, almost suspended in time. They both knew what was about to happen but neither of them seemed willing to make the first step. So Kuroo did what he always did, he slowly started to undress, preparing to go to bed as if it was a normal night. 

“Demons don’t need sleep, do they?” Oikawa asked, curiously looking around.

“No, we don’t, just like angels,” Kuroo said.

“Then why do you have such a big bed?”

“Because it’s comfortable and it’s not like there’s much to do at night… so I use it to just… lay down and wait for the night to pass,” Kuroo said, simply. “What do you do at night?”

“I read,” Oikawa said. “... mostly.”

Kuroo truly wanted to ask what he meant, but he didn’t. 

“Listen Tooru, you don’t have to… you know… not for my sake at least, I’m fine, really,” Kuroo said, even if he was anything but fine. But, at the same time, he was. “I don’t want you to think I’m going too fast.”

“You’re still thinking about it, aren’t you?” Oikawa asked, getting close to him.

“How could I stop thinking about it?” Kuroo said, dropping his gaze to the floor. 

“What I meant with it that night wasn’t that I wasn’t interested in you or that I wasn’t feeling the same things you were, because I was, Tetsu, I still am,” Oikawa said, taking Kuroo’s hands in his. “What I meant is that I couldn’t meet you where you were, I couldn’t run at the same pace as you and it was killing me inside. Because you were there, the only thing I wanted, and you offered yourself to me so freely but I wasn’t ready to take you, not the way you wanted me to. At the time I didn’t know if and when I would ever be ready, so I owed you the truth. I knew that saying it could have been the end of us but I had to. I had to give you the choice to stop waiting for me. To move on.”

Oikawa’s words broke the curse that had kept his heart trapped all that time, erasing all the lies Kuroo kept telling himself. 

“But I didn’t,” Kuroo said. “I waited for you and I will wait for you for as long as it will take, that’s why you don’t-”

“But I want to, I’m ready now,” Oikawa said, resolute, squeezing his hands harder. “And we only have this night. This is our last chance.”

“We have all the time that we want,” Kuroo smiled. “We have eternity.”

“What if we don’t?” Oikawa asked, concern flickering in his eyes. “The war is not over and you know it. They won’t be satisfied like that, they will take their anger out… on us. We will never be safe, anywhere in this world or outside of it.”

Kuroo hadn’t forgotten the pain of losing him. The pain of believing Oikawa had been killed. Even if they’d saved the world, their peaceful days on earth were over and he knew it. They would have to live like defectors in a constant game of hide and seek with heaven and hell. But he didn’t care. Not as long as he had Oikawa by his side. 

Kuroo closed the distance between them, hugging Oikawa. Oikawa kissed his naked shoulder, making him shiver. The feeling of his lips on his skin was enough to spark the fire in him once again. 

“Tooru, if you keep doing that I don’t know how long I can keep being a good demon,” Kuroo said in a shaky breath. 

“I don’t want you to be a good demon,” Oikawa said, his voice merely a whisper.

Oikawa’s lips travelled up his neck, his jaw, until they reached his mouth, sealing it with a kiss. In that moment, with Oikawa’s tongue playing with his, one hand in his hair and his nails digging into his skin, Kuroo understood what lust really meant. 

And he had no intention of stopping now.

He kissed him back, just as hard if not more, pushing him on the bed and falling over him. Looking at Oikawa under him, with his eyes wide and face all red, Kuroo couldn’t believe it was really happening. He wanted it for so long, he dreamed about it, imagined it but never thought it would actually happen. And yet here they were. 

Kuroo leaned forward, kissing Oikawa’s neck as he unzipped his trousers, pushing them down and out of the way. He let out a shaky moan the moment their bodies brushed against each other, so hard and so soft at the same time. But it wasn’t enough. His hand travelled up to unbutton his shirt but Oikawa pulled away, moaning complaints Kuroo couldn’t catch. 

Kuroo closed his eyes, exhaling sharply. 

“Tooru…” he said, sitting back on his heels. 

“I’m sorry I…” Oikawa muttered, pulling down the hem of his shirt. 

“What’s the problem?” Kuroo asked.

“I’m… I mean look at you,” Oikawa said, running a hand over Kuroo’s upper body. “You’re perfect. You look like one of those marble statues humans like so much and I…”

“And you?” Kuroo asked, confused. He literally had no idea where he was getting at with that. 

“And I am… soft,” Oikawa said, hiding his face in embarrassment. 

“And??” Kuroo said again, even more confused. “What is the problem Tooru?”

“Look,” Oikawa said, opening the shirt himself and exposing his chest and stomach. 

Kuroo did. He leaned forward and looked at his belly and the only thing he could notice was a thin layer of softness over his abs. Kuroo’s mouth watered and he bared his fangs, the instinct to bite it way too strong. 

“I think it’s perfect,” he let out in a defeated sigh. 

“You’re lying,” Oikawa said, still not meeting his gaze.

“I certainly am not,” Kuroo said. “Why would I lie to you?”

“You’re a demon, lying is what you lot do.” 

“You’re nothing but a perfect ensemble of celestial grace to me,” Kuroo said, pushing Oikawa’s hand away from his face. 

“Well I’m created by god, of course I’m perfect,” Oikawa muttered in a sudden sprout of confidence. 

“Perfectly annoying, that’s what I’ve been saying,” Kuroo laughed, placing a kiss on Oikawa’s belly. “Now let me take care of you, ok?” 

“Ok...” Oikawa said, his face still red and a little puffy. 

He was beautiful. Kuroo couldn’t possibly understand how Oikawa could look in the mirror and not recognize how gorgeous he was. No humans, demons or angels could ever compete with such beauty. He was the most charming creature Kuroo ever laid his eyes upon, and he was sure because he’d seen all the creatures of the world, old and new, and nothing compared to him, the light of his life. 

Kuroo peeled the shirt off of Oikawa and all the other layer of clothes that were still standing between them and held Oikawa close, just enjoying the warmth he was radiating and his intoxicating smell. He kissed him again, he couldn’t stop kissing him, he never wanted to stop kissing him and their bodies moved as if they had a life of their own. Kuroo had no idea what he was doing, he’d never done anything like that before, but their instincts were guiding them and every shift brought a new moan of pleasure, every touch was a gasp on their already overheated skin. 

“I hope I’m not doing the wrong thing,” Oikawa said, looking at Kuroo with his big, glossy, eyes.

“Oh, you’re an angel, I don’t think you are capable of doing  _ the wrong thing _ ,” Kuroo smiled, brushing some hair away from Oikawa’s sweaty forehead. “Isn’t your lot always going on about how you must celebrate love?”

“Yes but this is -” 

“That’s what we’re doing… love,” Kuroo said, kissing his lips once again. 

“Love?” Oikawa asked with a confused smile.

“Or whatever this is called,” Kuroo shrugged. “I wish your lord invented a bunch of new words because the ones that I know are not enough to tell you how much I love you, Tooru.” Kuroo said. 

As the words left his mouth all the tension left his heart as well. The words he’d kept inside for so long, the words that he wanted to scream from rooftop of every building in the world were out there, delivered to the only person who mattered to him. 

“Love me? You aren’t supposed to know what love means,” Oikawa said, brushing Kuroo’s face with the tip of his fingers. 

“I was an angel once, you know,” Kuroo said, leaning into the touch. “You’re the love of my eternal life, Tooru. You always have been and forever will be.”

“And you are mine, Tetsu,” Oikawa said. “The love of my eternal life.” 

As Oikawa pulled his head down to kiss him, Kuroo felt his eyes filling up with tears. Of joy, of relief, of fear, he didn’t even know. The only thing he knew was that Oikawa loved him, he really did. And in his love he was strong, able to endure every challenge their life was ready to throw at them. 

Oikawa wrapped his legs around Kuroo’s waist, letting out little whimpers of anticipation. In his eyes Kuroo saw the same fire burning inside him and the serenity hearts can dwell in forever. It wasn’t the kind of love mortals could understand. It extended way past a lifetime, no matter how eternal that was. It ignited every star in the universe, so that its light could always reflect it. 

And it exploded, hot and blinding, the moment their bodies finally met, melting into one. Their kisses stole from their mouths all the words they didn’t need to say. In the room filled with their shaky breaths, their moans and the soft rustling of sheets all their secrets were laid bare, with all their passion and their desire. 

They were holding onto each other tight, Kuroo moving slow and deep and Oikawa leaving deep red trails over his back. Every thrust was burning inside Kuroo, healing him and bringing him back to life, reviving what he thought was lost forever and restoring everything that had been shattered. It was so painful and yet so comforting Kuroo wanted to cry. 

And so he did. 

He cried because he remembered he was born to love and to be loved, to cherish and be cherished, unconditionally. He cried because he was finally being accepted for who he was, for the mistakes he made. He cried because he had been forgiven. 

Kuroo had no control over his body, his mind and his heart anymore, he was lost inside Oikawa who kept finding him, kissing all his tears away. Their bodies were taut, shaking, their hearts racing, their cries more and more intense, the borders between their bodies non existent.

The tension built up to the point Kuroo’s whole body arched in a clenching feeling. And just when he was sure he couldn’t take any of it anymore, that he was on the verge of discorporating in that wave of energy, it was all suddenly released, pulsing out and all around him. He held Oikawa even closer, taking him with him. 

They screamed while the feeling washed inside them, over and over again until Kuroo’s body couldn’t support him anymore and crashed over Oikawa. Kuroo’s breath was ragged, his body still spasming. They both laid down in silence, consumed by the pleasure and the relief, every inch of their bodies saturated with love. 

“Thank you,” Kuroo said after a long time, his breath still a little shaky. 

“What for?” Oikawa asked, absently running his hand up and down Kuroo’s spine. 

“For taking a chance on me,” Kuroo said, propping himself up on his elbows. “I know it wasn’t easy.”

Oikawa smiled at him, his cheeks still red with the effort. “You’re more than worth it.” 

Kuroo leaned forward, kissing him once again. Now that he regained focus, he noticed how Oikawa’s body was covered in bites he didn’t remember giving him. 

“Did I hurt you?” Kuroo asked, suddenly worried. 

“No, how could you?” Oikawa said, his voice so fragile. “It was beautiful.”

Kuroo laughed, dropping his forehead against his. He didn’t want it to end. He wanted to stay there, where he belonged, forever and forget about everything outside. 

“Can we stay like this a little longer?” Kuroo asked, brushing their noses together. 

“Yes,” Oikawa said, kissing the tip of his nose. “But can we do it again after?”

Kuroo widened his eyes in surprise, stammering over his answer. 

Before he could attempt a coherent sentence, Oikawa ran both his hands in his hair and dug his fingers in his scalp, pulling him down in a ravaging kiss. 

=

“A strawberry lolly and a vanilla with a flake, please,” Kuroo asked the small woman behind the ice cream cart. 

He was hungry, which was very uncharacteristic of him, but also understandable since the night he just spent consumed all his energies. He glanced at Oikawa who was standing next to him, holding his hand and resting his head on his shoulder, his eyes still half lidded.

“We could have stayed indoors a little bit more, you’re very tired,” Kuroo said, pecking him on the forehead. 

“No, I’m fine, I wanted to come to the park and get some fresh air,” Oikawa said. “And I wanted to see you.”

“We haven’t seen each other in less than an hour,” Kuroo laughed, giving him the cone. 

“So? That’s already too much!” Oikawa whined. 

Kuroo had to admit he was enjoying this overly clingy version of Oikawa very much. 

“So, how’s the bookshop?” he asked, biting his lolly.

“Not a smudge,” Oikawa said. “How’s your car?”

“Not a scratch on it.” 

With the reboot of reality, Hinata fixed all the things that ended up being broken in the rush to stop armageddon, Oikawa’s bookshop and Kuroo’s beloved Bentley included. Oikawa discovered it earlier that morning when, at the crack of dawn, he left Kuroo’s apartment to go and see with his eyes the ruins of what had been his bookshop. Kuroo wanted to go with him but Oikawa insisted on going alone. After all, loss was a feeling that must be dealt with alone. 

He was so happy, though, when Oikawa called telling him everything was absolutely fine. Kuroo couldn’t believe his eyes when, right outside his apartment, he found his car, as shiny as new, parked in his usual spot. 

“... have you heard from your people yet?” Oikawa asked, tentatively. 

“No,” Kuroo said, suddenly feeling tense. “Yours?”

“Nothing,” Oikawa said. “Something isn’t right Tetsu, I can feel it.” 

“Just stay calm, we’lll go back to my place now and start searching for a new one, ok? Somewhere safer,” Kuroo said, patting his head. 

“No, it’s too late already, they’re -”

“Well well well, isn’t this the definition of killing two birds with one stone?” a voice said, coming from behind them. It was Gabriel. 

Both Kuroo and Oikawa tightened their hold on the hand of the other at the same time. 

“I’m sorry, demon, but I will borrow your boyfriend right now, we have a couple of things to discuss,” Gabriel smirked. “I hope you said goodbye to him already.”

Gabriel snapped his fingers and Oikawa disappeared from Kuroo’s side, materializing between two other angles, bound and gagged. His eyes were pinned into Kuroo’s, filled with fear. 

“No, Tooru!” Kuroo screamed, sprinting forward to reach him but something hit his head from behind, making him fall. 

His vision started to become blurry and darkened at the edges. The last thing he saw was Oikawa, crying and screaming as Gabriel pinched his chin, lifting his chin to force him to look at him in the eye.

“It’s over, renegade angel,” he said and they all disappeared in a flash of light. 

“Don’t cry Kuroo, you knew it was bound to happen,” lord Belzebub said, materializing next to him. “Let’s go, we have your own trial to get over with.”

Before he could reply to her, everything went black. 

=

The smell of the sea was the first thing Kuroo sensed, even before fully regaining consciousness. 

Then it was the sound of the waves, crashing gently over the shore.

Then it was Oikawa’s smell.

Then it was Oikawa’s voice. 

Kuroo’s eyes snapped open. 

It was indeed a beach, but there was no such beach on all Earth. The air around it was still, the motion of the waves perfectly repetitive. The sun was shining but it wasn’t hot at all. 

He was gagged and tied to a pole with a bunch of demons standing in front of him, chattering between themselves. At the head of them there was lord Belzebub and Hastur right next to her. 

Kuroo turned his head towards where he sensed Oikawa’s smell. As he saw him, he called out but his voice came out too muffled for him to hear. Oikawa was tied to a pole as well, his head dangling from his neck, still to regain his consciousness. His hair was covering his face but Kuroo could tell someone had hit him. Quite surely one of the angels who were standing around him.

His anger tried to summon his demonic powers, but nothing happened. 

Lord Belzebu smiled coldly at him, taking his gag away. 

“Where are we?” Kuroo asked through gritted teeth, his head still hurting. 

“We’re neither on Earth, or heaven or hell,” Gabriel said, walking towards him. “We’re in purgatory. Right outside the exit gate of hell and right under the mountain on top of which sits heaven.”

“We quite literally met halfway, then,” Kuroo scoffed. 

“You probably don’t understand the situation yet,” lord Belzebub said, “But we brought you two traitors here because it’s time for your trial and time for punishment.”

“If you already decided we’re both guilty then why bother with the trial?” Kuroo asked angrily. 

“We’re not here to answer your questions, demon.” Gabriel said. “Now wake the other one up.”

An angel stepped closer to Oikawa, slapping his face. Kuroo screamed at the top of his lungs for them to stop but, of course, no one was listening. It took four slaps in total for Oikawa to finally open his eyes. He barely managed to lift his head up but he turned to look at Kuroo regardless, smiling warmly. 

“Tooru…” Kuroo cried out. He jerked ferociously but he just helped the ties dig more painfully into his wrists. 

“Are you aware of the crimes you committed, Oikawa Tooru?” Gabriel asked him. 

“You asked me to choose sides so I did,” Oikawa said. Despite the beating, he was standing proudly, his eyes unwavering. “I chose earth’s side. Our side,” he added, glancing at Kuroo. “And given the chance to go back, I will choose it all over again.” 

“Did you consort with him?” Gabriel asked.

“Yes,” Oikawa said without hesitation.

“This classifies as treason against your home, your kind and the people who trusted you. It’s treason against heaven itself.”

“You don’t have all the facts,” Oikawa said.

“Which are?” Gabriel asked with a raised eyebrow.

“I love him.” 

Kuroo’s heart squeezed painfully at those words.

“I will write that under treason as well,” Gabriel noted. 

“We’re meant to be the good guys, for heaven’s sake,” Oikawa let out, exasperated. 

“For  _ heaven’s sake _ we’re meant to make examples out of traitors, that’s why you’re sentenced to die in the flames of hell,” Gabriel said, visibly pleased with himself. 

“No!” Kuroo yelled, his eyes full of tears. 

“Watch it closely Kuroo, because that is going to be your punishment,” lord Belzebub said, low and vicious. “For the act of treason and murder of a fellow demon, I sentence you to death by heartbreak.”

A demon walked slowly by Oikawa, who just smiled at him kindly. He blew a little sparkle which turned into flames the moment it met Oikawa’s clothes. Oikawa looked at Kuroo one last time.  _ I love you _ , he mouthed, and then the flames ate him completely. 

Kuroo screamed so much his mouth was filled with blood moments after. 

No. No. No. That wasn’t how it was supposed to end. They should have been happy, together, forever. They should have had a million nights more like the one they just had, they should have watched Earth changing and evolving into something new every day, they should have had dinner at the Ritz and a picnic on Alpha Centauri. They should have had the happiness they deserved. 

Kuroo prayed for his heart to break fast, so that he could leave all that mess behind and reach Oikawa, wherever he was now. But it didn’t. His heart just wouldn’t break. 

“He’s not dying,” Gabriel pointed out. 

“Maybe we underestimated how much he loves him,” lord Belzebub said. 

Kuroo raised his head and spit blood into her face. 

“Very well,” she said, unfazed. “I think we can proceed with plan B then.”

An angel came by him, a jug of water in his hands. 

“That’s holy water,” Kuroo said.

“The holiest,” lord Belzebub said. “And this will kill you for sure.”

Kuroo dropped his head against the pole. “Just get this fucking thing over with already, kill me!”

“As you wish,” the angel said, starting to pour the water on his head. 

It burned. Not like the flames of hell, it was a different kind of burn. It was consuming his skin, one layer at a time, right to the bone. 

It hurt. Not like a physical pain, more like an emotional one. It was like his soul was being ripped from his body and rinsed in bleach. 

It was somehow familiar, as if he’d experienced something like it before, but he couldn’t remember when. 

It burned and it hurt but, most of all, it didn’t kill him. 

In one last excruciating scream of pain, Kuroo spread his wings, feathers falling all around him. It was in that moment that he saw it, that he understood everything.

“His wings…” lord Belzebub said in an incredulous whisper. 

“Stop it!” Gabriel roared, snatching the jug out of the angel’s hands. “He’s reverting! Holy water can’t kill him, it will only make him stronger!”

Kuroo burst into laughter. That bastard. He knew, of course Oikawa knew before everyone else that sort of thing would have happened, that’s why he wanted to be with him the past night, so much he completely exhausted himself. The holy water melted the demonic chains that were keeping him in place so he could grab one of his feathers. The white was seeping into the black, almost halfway down, while the ones on the bones of his wings were already entirely white, just like they were before he fell. 

Oikawa used his body to purify him, turning him into a sort of half angel half demon, impossible to kill. But if Oikawa did that to him, chances were that…

“I appreciate the sauna but can you turn this thing off? I can’t breathe!” Oikawa’s muffled voice came from the whirlwind of fire.

“That’s impossible,” Gabriel gasped. “He should be dead already.”

“Bitch you wish,” Oikawa said, finally stepping out of the fire, his wings spread wide behind him. They were still white but the tips slowly turned into black. He walked to Kuroo, taking his hand into his. “Now I’m very tired, can you please let us go home now?”

“You’re probably wondering if we can do that then what else we can do,” Kuroo started, deadly. “I think it would be better for everyone if we were to be left alone in the future. You don’t want to find out, do you?”

Gabriel and lord Belzebub exchanged one, long look before nodding. 

“Excellent,” Kuroo smirked. “See you never, fuckers.” 

=

Oikawa slept for an entire day. He passed out in Kuroo’s arms the moment they arrived in his apartment and didn’t wake up until the next sunrise. Kuroo curled up in a ball next to him, watching over him without ever leaving his side. 

As Oikawa regained his strength, the bruises slowly started to fade from his gorgeous face and his skin regained his usual warm undertone. Kuroo looked at his wings, a little worried the black might have taken over them, but thankfully it only stained the tip and no more, keeping them mostly white. 

Making love to him, it didn’t even occur to Kuroo that he might stain Oikawa’s soul with his darkness. What an idiot, of course it would. He was feeling incredibly guilty, despite the fact that it was exactly that darkness which saved Oikawa from certain death in the flames of hell. A darkness Oikawa wanted, searched for and accepted in himself. Not only did he purify him, he sacrificed his whole self for him. 

If Oikawa had told him about it, he would have never accepted. And if he did, he would have never abandoned himself in Oikawa the same way he did the night before. Once again, Oikawa did the right thing and Kuroo couldn’t even be mad at him. 

Kuroo moved the hair out of Oikawa’s face, looking at him closely, a smile curving up his lips. That dumbass angel. Acting like a hero and saving their ass all over again. 

The only thing Kuroo could do was live for him from now on. For the only one in the world, the only reason he had for his breath to reach deep inside his lungs. For the one who was the light in a dark, dark world, the one who could make everything clear even without saying a single world. For the one who found him and kept him by his side, making his life much more than what it was. For the one who gave the passing of time a meaning even without measuring it, just by staying by his side. For the one who was so fragile Kuroo could kill him holding him too tight and yet so strong he alone took their lives and dragged them to safety. For the one who taught Kuroo what dreaming felt like, what it meant to go on an adventure, for the one who firmly believed in courage but in fear as well.

For the one who changed every day, still remaining the same. For the one with his body issues who didn’t realise he was better than all the wonders of the world combined, for the one who had all the forces of nature dwelling inside his heart. For the one who was the sun, all the stars, all the plants and all the hurricanes. For the one who was the horizon welcoming him home every time he went away. 

For the one who was the only friend he ever had, the only love Kuroo ever wanted if he didn’t have him already. For the one who made life drop-dead gorgeous and made every effort an immense pleasure.

For the one who was the best thing that ever happened to him. 

For the one who was the substance of his world and of his dreams. 

For the one who was his love, the love of his eternal life. 

Kuroo would live for him because he had nothing else to offer than his whole self. 

Oikawa grunted, turning around and hugging Kuroo close, hiding his face in his chest. Kuroo pressed a kiss on the top of his head, holding him even closer. 

“Good morning,” Oikawa murmured. 

“Hello angel, how do you feel?” Kuroo asked.

“Better,” Oikawa said. “I didn’t imagine sleeping would be this regenerating. It must be why humans like it so much. How do you feel?”

“I… a little weird,” Kuroo admitted. His purification had not only changed the color of his wings but something inside him as well, even if he couldn’t pinpoint what it was. “I will get used to it.”

“Are you mad at me?” Oikawa asked, a little concerned.

“Do I look like someone who’s mad at you?” Kuroo smiled. 

“I tricked you.”

“You saved me,” Kuroo said. “You saved us both.” 

“Do you think they’ll leave us alone now?” Oikawa asked. 

“They have to, we’re out of their jurisdiction now,” Kuroo said. “They’ll probably pretend it never happened, that  _ we _ never happened.” 

“I hope so,” Oikawa said, yawning and making himself more comfortable in Kuroo’s arms. “I’m a little hungry.”

“I figured you would be,” Kuroo said, stroking his hair. “Would you let me tempt you to a spot of lunch?”

“Temptation accomplished,” Oikawa chuckled. “What about the Ritz? I believe a table for two has just miraculously become free.”

“Oh, is that so?” Kuroo giggled. “The Ritz it is then.” 

=

From the 45th floor of the Ritz, the restaurant was gifting them one of the most beautiful views of the city skyline and the Tokyo tower. But for Oikawa the only view worth watching was sitting right next to him at that very moment. 

Oikawa knew Kuroo wasn’t fond of high end restaurants, but he couldn’t help smiling seeing him concentrating so much, looking at the various dishes, his hesitation at cutting the food because he was afraid to ruin it, his face when he realized everything actually tasted good. With tasting menus Kuroo didn’t even have to spend time deciding what to eat and the courses were so small even someone with a little appetite like him could easily finish. 

The only thing Kuroo probably truly appreciated of those places was the chance to dress up properly. He had a true passion for style and for human fashion and Oikawa surely couldn’t complain about that. With his dark suit and his hair slicked back he was simply gorgeous. 

A waiter came to their table, pouring champagne in their empty glasses. 

“Are you sure you’re fine? You’re spacing out a little,” Kuroo asked, calling him back to reality. 

“I’m tickety-boo,” Oikawa smiled. “I was just thinking that none of this would have worked out if you weren’t, at heart, just a little bit of a good person.”

“And if you weren’t, deep down, just enough of a bastard to be worth knowing,” Kuroo said with a smile of his own. “Have you ever thought you’d be more suited… you know… to the other side?”

“Hell could never handle me,” Oikawa scoffed. 

“Not that heaven did such a good job at it, actually,” Kuroo laughed. 

“You’re the only one who can,” Oikawa said, scrunching his nose. 

Kuroo shook his head to conceal his evident fondness. Oikawa was having the time of his life embarrassing him at every given opportunity as he still had to accustom himself to receiving so much affection. It just was impossible for him to look at Kuroo and not tell him he loved him. He’d wanted to say it for so long and now that he was free to do so he had no intention of stopping. Ever. 

“Cheers,” Kuroo said, still a little embarrassed, picking up his glass. “To the world.”

He couldn’t have chosen a better thing to toast to. To the world. The world they felt in love with. The world they chose to stand for. The world they protected. It was their world, the world that was the framework of their relationship through time, that watched them fall in love, fight, lose and find each other over and over again. The world in which they had so much fun, the world that hosted the best memories they had. 

Kuroo was Oikawa’s place in that world and his whole world at the same time. 

And it was perfect that way, even if it made them cry, suffer and scream so much. It was theirs and it truly was the only one he would ever need. 

Oikawa smiled, clinking his glass against Kuroo’s. 

“To the world.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading my Good Omens AU! I really hope you liked it <3  
As always, if you want to talk to me, you can find me on Tumblr @blackandorange


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